Who Invented Buffalo Chicken Wings? The Contentious Origin Story Behind an American Classic

Buffalo chicken wings are an iconic American dish – a tasty, messy, finger-licking treat that is now a staple appetizer on menus across the country But who exactly invented this delicious bar snack? The origin story of buffalo wings is hotly debated, with multiple claims over who should get credit for creating the now-ubiquitous spicy, buttery fried chicken.

The Rise of Buffalo Wings

While chicken wings were considered waste products for decades, occasionally used for soup stock or other uses, by the early 1960s they started gaining popularity in certain restaurants as a novel appetizer item. In 1964, Italian-American Teressa Bellissimo famously decided to fry up some wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, and toss them in a spicy sauce made with hot peppers and butter. This recipe created what we now know as buffalo chicken wings.

The dish slowly started catching on locally, with other Buffalo restaurants putting their own spin on breaded, fried chicken wings coated in vinegary hot sauce. By the 1970s and 1980s buffalo wings became a nationwide sensation, spreading from bar food staple to mainstream menu item. Restaurant chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters emerged to meet demand. Nowadays the term “buffalo” is used to describe all kinds of spicy, sauced foods from shrimp to cauliflower in honor of the original Buffalo, New York-born recipe.

Multiple Origin Stories

While the Bellissimos and Anchor Bar were long credited with inventing the buffalo wing, there are multiple origin stories and claimants for this famous food.

• Some say buffalo wings were first made by John Young, an Alabama transplant who moved to Buffalo in the 1960s and sold uncut breaded wings coated in his own sweet “mambo sauce” at his Wings ‘n Things restaurant.

• There are claims that Teressa Bellissimo was motivated to use up excess wings after an accidental over-delivery of wings instead of necks for the Anchor Bar’s spaghetti sauce.

• Dominic Bellissimo said his mother Teressa spontaneously invented the dish late one night in 1964 to feed her son’s friends at the bar.

• There is evidence that other Buffalo restaurants like Duff’s were selling wings before the Anchor Bar.

Teressa Bellissimo and the Anchor Bar

While the true origins are uncertain, there’s no doubt the Anchor Bar and Teressa Bellissimo played a key role in popularizing what became known as buffalo wings. By the 1970s the dish was becoming famous at the Anchor Bar, which leaned into its role as the originator.

In 1977 Buffalo declared July 29th National Chicken Wing Day. Frank and Teressa Bellissimo were celebrated as the creators, cementing the Anchor Bar’s central place in buffalo wing history. An article in a 1964 local paper references the Anchor Bar serving “chicken wings” suggesting buffalo wings were on the menu earlier than the famous 1964 origin story.

Regardless of who exactly invented the dish, Buffalo, New York is considered the undisputed birthplace of buffalo chicken wings thanks to Teressa Bellissimo and the Anchor Bar’s promotion in the early years.

John Young and Wings ‘n Things

While the Bellissimos were celebrating their newfound wing fame, restaurateur John Young claimed he had been serving a nearly identical dish years before at his Wings ‘n Things restaurant.

Young said he got the idea from a restaurant in Washington D.C. and started coating wings in his sweet “mambo sauce” after moving to Buffalo in 1961. He registered his restaurant’s name before the alleged 1964 Anchor Bar wing invention.

Young felt Buffalo wings were just a copy of wings he’d popularized first. He never got the same recognition as the Anchor Bar, but recently Buffalo has started acknowledging his contributions. In 2013 he was inducted into the Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame for his role in buffalo wing history.

Other Claims and Challengers

There may be even earlier and more forgotten purveyors of buffalo-style chicken wings in Buffalo’s past. A 1957 hotel menu offered “chicken wings, fried” showing the concept predated the 1960s.

And Buffalo wasn’t the only city exploring chicken wings – a D.C. restaurant called Wings ‘n Things was selling mambo sauce-coated wings years before Young or Bellissimo. So Young may have gotten his recipe idea there before bringing it to Buffalo.

Even today new claimants like the family of Buffalo chef Galileo Obekson say Obekson was serving wings in his restaurants before 1964. With so many moving parts, it’s likely we’ll never know exactly who served the very first buffalo chicken wing.

Why Buffalo Wings Became Famous

This delicious bar snack succeeded because it was the perfect cocktail food – easy to eat with your fingers, messy, sharable, and went great with beer. Buffalo wings also got a boost from sports. With Buffalo’s football team reaching the Super Bowl multiple times in the early 1990s, buffalo wings became a fixture of game-watching spreads.

Ranch dressing emerged as the preferred dipping sauce over the original blue cheese dressing. Buffalo wing consumption exploded nationwide. As the dish grew famous, Buffalo, New York cemented its status as the original home of the buffalo wing.

An American Classic

The popularity of Buffalo wings has made them a tasty symbol of American ingenuity and culture. The dish is fun, casual, spicy – everything we love about bar food. The story involves immigration, sports fandom, and entrepreneurial restaurant owners all coming together to create an iconic appetizer.

While we may never untangle the true origins, one thing is clear: Buffalo wings have become a quintessential all-American food thanks to the early chicken wing pioneers of Buffalo, New York. Next time you’re eating these addictive spicy nibbles, thank Western New York for this delicious innovation, wherever it originated.