A California man went to a Buffalo Wild Wings and noticed a peculiar quirk about the restaurant’s design. It reminded him of a survival video game.
Noel Espinoza (@noelllespinozaa on TikTok), a streamer, posted a video that received more than 80,200 views. In it, he points out a double-doored system that creates an “airlock” inside the building. It “felt like… Rust,” he says.
In Espinoza’s video, he pans to a double set of doors that lead into Buffalo Wild Wings. Then he showed the empty foyer space that led to another set of doors before finally leading into the main restaurant.
“Look at this crazy-a– airlock,” Espinoza said while looking at the first set of doors. “So a double door, airlock right here, another double door, bro. That’s crazy.”
What’s An Airlock?
The streamer made a reference to Rust, a game that has its own buildable door system called an “airlock.” Airlocks are used in the game for defensive strategies: The doors swing toward each other rather than in the same direction, which prevents players from immediately entering a base or camp. Contrary to that point, though, the doors inside the Buffalo Wild Wings appeared to swing in the same direction.
Espinoza isn’t the first person to notice that many modern commercial spaces and restaurants have “airlocks” or foyer entrances. It’s an element of commercial design that helps save energy.
The International Energy Conservation Code requires that spaces larger than 3,000 square feet have “vestibules” or lobbies. A vestibule is a small foyer with two sets of doors, which commercial manufacturers use to manage temperature.
If a restaurant doesn’t have a large vestibule, they may install an air curtain. Air curtains have one set of doors and a large fan, which helps create an “invisible air barrier.” It can help regulate the temperature coming inside a building and prevent cold or heat transfer from open doors on the outside.
Commenters Weigh In
Most commenters had humorous responses similar to Espinoza’s Rust comment.
“And yk it’s armored cus it got windows,” one commenter wrote. Noel replied, saying, “You see the vision nephew.”
“Will they stop my 10 rockets,” another commenter wrote.
A few, however, noticed the vestibules and identified the way they’d help the business manage the internal temperature. One commenter pointed out that Alaska, which is the coldest state in the United States, reportedly has a large number of spaces with vestibules.
Another person who noticed the vestibules wrote, “Every building in Alaska has ts.” Then a commenter replied, adding, “Its bc the cold.”
@noelllespinozaa felt like I was playing rust #rust #rustgame #fyp #viral #buffalowildwings
BroBible reached out to Espinoza via TikTok direct comment and Inspire Brands, the parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings, via email.