What’s the Real Story Behind Buffalo Wings?

Spicy, saucy, and utterly addictive, Buffalo wings reign supreme as the go-to game day snack. On Super Bowl Sunday alone, Americans are set to devour over 1.4 billion of these iconic wings, according to the National Chicken Council. But how did Buffalo wings become the star of tailgates everywhere? And why are they called 'Buffalo' wings in the first place?

Here’s the scoop: the name has nothing to do with the animal, and everything to do with the city. But the true story of the Buffalo wing is as hotly debated as the wings themselves. Let’s dive into it.

The Disputed Origins of the Buffalo Wing

One popular origin story traces the Buffalo wing back to a bar called the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, during the mid-1960s. We know for sure that the owners, Teressa and Frank Bellissimo, began serving wings on a Friday night in 1964, but beyond that, the details get a bit murky with several competing versions of how it all went down.

One tale suggests that the Anchor Bar accidentally received a shipment of chicken wings instead of the chicken backs and necks they had ordered for spaghetti sauce. Not wanting to let the wings go to waste, Teressa quickly came up with a dish to use them and make some extra profit.

Another version of the story says that one late night, Dominic, Teressa and Frank's son, unexpectedly showed up at the bar with some college friends, likely after a night of partying. Teressa, working with whatever was left in the kitchen, decided to fry up some chicken wings to satisfy their late-night cravings.

However, Dominic has a completely different recollection. In a 1980 interview with the New Yorker, Dominic explained, "It was Friday night at the bar, and since customers were drinking heavily, [Frank] wanted to do something nice for them at midnight when the mostly Catholic crowd would be able to eat meat again." Teressa grabbed the chicken wings leftover in the kitchen, fried them, coated them in a spicy red sauce, and the rest is wing history.

But is that the whole story? According to an article in USA Today, a Buffalo chef named John Young, who was Black, was left out of the narrative. On the other side of town, in the city’s largely segregated neighborhoods, Young had been frying up breaded chicken wings for years before Anchor Bar became known for the dish. Some accounts in the article place Young’s wings back to 1960, coinciding with the founding of the Buffalo Bills in the AFL.

Young’s family insists that the Bellissimos, along with other figures like Ron Duff (owner of Duff's Famous Wings, Anchor Bar’s rival), regularly visited Young’s restaurant, John Young’s Wings 'n Things, years before Anchor Bar claimed the recipe.

Young’s wings were served whole, accompanied by a spicy-sweet, tangy orange-red sauce called mombo sauce, while Anchor Bar’s wings were tossed in a secret red hot sauce. It’s possible that Anchor Bar took inspiration from Young and the rich traditions of Buffalo’s Black community. However, the Bellissimos solidified their place in wing history by cutting the wings into flats and drumsticks, coating them in a buttery hot sauce, and serving them with Blue cheese dressing—creating the signature Buffalo wing style that is still popular today.

When Did Buffalo Wings Become a Nationwide Favorite?

Buffalo wings remained a regional favorite in upstate New York until the late 1970s and early 1980s, when they started appearing on bar menus nationwide as a popular snack. By the mid-1980s, wing-centric chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters began to emerge. By 1990, even McDonald's had introduced Mighty Wings to their menu.

The Buffalo Bills’ impressive run—making it to the Super Bowl four times in the early '90s—caught the attention of national chains like Domino's, who added wings to their menu in 1994. Pizza Hut quickly followed suit the next year.

By the early 2000s, Buffalo sauce itself—a mix of melted butter and hot pepper sauce like Frank’s—began to overshadow the wings. Today, you can find everything from cauliflower to calzones, soup to sushi, all 'buffalo-ed.' While wings remain the crown jewel, the term 'Buffalo' has come to be almost synonymous with that hot, buttery sauce.

The Final Word

No matter which version of the Buffalo wing’s origin story you buy into, one thing is clear—it all began in Buffalo. And the city takes great pride in that claim. Buffalo has celebrated Chicken Wing Day every July since 1970, hosts the National Buffalo Wing Festival, and even boasts the National Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame. Today, these iconic wings are forever linked to their hometown, even as their fame has spread worldwide.