Buffalo’s Original Wing King
The Legacy of John Young's Wings 'n Things
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When you think about an iconic dish like “buffalo wings,” your mind likely drifts to lively gatherings, sports nights, and flavor-packed nostalgia. But a deeper exploration reveals a history more layered and culturally significant than you might imagine.
Buffalo wings are often credited to Teressa Bellissimo, co-owner of Buffalo’s Anchor Bar, who is said to have first prepared the flavorful bite back in 1964. Legend tells of a late-night request from her son and his friends, leading Teressa to improvise something tasty yet unpretentious from what she had available: chicken wings, usually discarded or used merely for soup stock. In a moment of spontaneous culinary creativity, she deep-fried the wings, generously coating them with a cayenne pepper hot sauce, and plated them alongside crunchy celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.
The reaction? Immediate approval.
The dish found an enthusiastic audience from that first plate onward, rapidly evolving from a late-night household experiment into a nationwide phenomenon.
Enter John Young
Yet, while this charming tale has been embraced by many, lurking quietly in the shadows of mainstream recognition was a Black restaurateur named John Young
Young's contribution began at least as early as the mid-1960s around the same time as Teressa's creation. Young moved north from Alabama seeking opportunity, he opened a modest yet vibrant establishment on Buffalo's Jefferson Avenue.
The name of his spot? "John Young's Wings 'n Things."
Here, he served wings breaded, crispy, and generously coated in a thick, skillfully seasoned tomato-based sauce dubbed "mambo sauce," influenced by the mumbo sauce beloved in Black-owned eateries in Washington, D.C.
Young understood flavor, texture, and the appeal of classics done well. Customers streamed through his doors, savoring wings distinctly different from the cayenne-vinegar style later synonymous with the Anchor Bar. John Young confidently declared years after Buffalo wings exploded in popularity:
"I was selling 5,000 pounds of chicken wings in 1962.”
Battling for Recognition
By the early 1970s, as the Anchor Bar's star rose through glowing features in local newspapers and national magazines. A 1972 article by the Buffalo Evening News elevated Frank and Teressa Bellissimo to iconic status, fueling their thriving local fame and granting national exposure via Associated Press coverage and Calvin Trillin’s notable 1980 article in The New Yorker. Yet even Trillin’s reporting attempted to balance the narrative, highlighting Young’s doubts and frustrations upon returning to Buffalo from Illinois after nearly a decade.
When Young discovered how his once-unique offering had exploded into a communal culinary phenomenon, yet was associated almost exclusively with Anchor Bar, he expressed disbelief and indignation.
"Mr. Bellissimo used to come into my place and eat my chicken wings,"
But fate had cemented a narrative and erased another. Restaurants around Buffalo had already embraced the Anchor Bar formula, unbreaded wings, split into flats and drumettes, drenched in hot sauce beside celery sticks and blue cheese. Young's original recipe, once celebrated among a dedicated circle, faded into obscurity outside his loyal patrons. His innovation was record-breaking, yet seldom recognized beyond personal reminiscence in his community.
Legacy Reclaimed
As the 1980s rolled in, Buffalo wings soared to nationwide popularity. Franchise giants like Buffalo Wild Wings recognized the demand, setting their roots in Ohio and spreading the dish from sea to shining sea. Wings became synonymous with Super Bowl Sundays, sports bars, and casual American dining. Yet the truth of John Young's early contributions remained largely unknown and uncredited.
John Young passed away quietly in 1998, his story nearly slipping forever from popular memory. But legacies have a way of resurfacing. Today, Young’s daughter, Lina Brown-Young, proudly revives her father's forgotten recipe on Buffalo Bike Tours' historical "wing ride," reclaiming history and honoring her father’s rightful title as the "King of Wings."
As Lina continues to share her father's wings, she ensures that Buffalo’s original Wing King's name will not be forgotten again.
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-Countryboi