Ironton residents could soon be enjoying some spicy cuisine, courtesy of Buffalo Wild Wings.

Portsmouth resident Scott Schmidt, who also owns a BWW in Portsmouth and Wendy’s in Ironton and Coal Grove, said he was in the early stages of development, but did say that he was currently considering part of the former Hills building in the Ironton Hills Plaza to house the bar and grill.

“You can go across the river and find everything you want, but I think Ironton needs something like this,” Schmidt said. “Ironton just doesn’t have anything like it.”

Schmidt also cites the restaurant’s success in other river cities as a reason for the expansion to Ironton. He also said that the town’s fanaticism for sports would be a good fit for the restaurant.

“There’s such a great sports history in Ironton that I think it will be a great fit,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt is so early in planning that he has not yet signed a lease for the building, so more information should be available in the coming weeks.

What may present a snag for Schmidt is the lack of available liquor licenses in the city. The number, which Ironton has exhausted its allotment of, is determined by a city’s population.

The Ohio Division of Liquor Control is the agency in charge of granting the licenses. If there’s a license available, the process can take around eight weeks, but it’s difficult to say how long the wait could be without available licenses.

A group of investors who were working toward bringing a fine-dining restaurant to the former site of the Depot has encountered similar problems.