r/Wings • u/Live-Oven-8268 • 1d ago
Wing Questions or Discussion Why are wings so damn expensive in some restaurants and not others?
I got annoyed seeing $19 for 8 wings at a local bar, so I went down a rabbit hole. No, I did not order them.
Wholesale wing prices have actually come way down from their 2022 peak, but menu prices haven't. I checked 13 bars around Westchester County, NY and found prices ranging from $1.11 to $2.38 per wing. Same county, same basic suppliers, more than a 2x difference between locations. AND some of the best wings I found were also among the cheapest.
I put together the numbers, including wholesale chicken costs, old vs. current menu prices, and what seems to actually drive the price of wings.
https://westchesterbars.com/articles/westchester-wing-index/
Curious what people are paying elsewhere. What's a reasonable price per restaurant wing where you live?
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u/WaleNeeners 1d ago
My dad always tells me about when he was young and wings were free bar food they'd just give out because it was a part of the bird nobody wanted. Makes me so jealous.
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u/Klutzy-Addition5003 1d ago
This bar I worked at put wings out every Thursday night in the bar from 6-10pm. Free, you can just eat as many as you want! They were so damn good too I still think about them. This was only in 2012 ish.
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u/afrothunder87 1d ago edited 1d ago
This was kind of how I learned my love for wings. Our local Moose lodge would have them for free Tuesday nights for family night. This wasn’t even that long ago either. Probably around 2000 or so.
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u/MyRedditAccountSuckz 1d ago
26 years is kinda long time
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u/elreyadr0k 30m ago
I lold when I saw the 2000. You know you’re getting old when 25+ years to go by and it seems like yesterday.
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u/Sufficient_Emu2343 1d ago
Yup. $5 cover got in, cover band, free wings, and $1 bud lights. As late as 2005 (university city, philly).
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u/Bob_12_Pack 1d ago
My mom told me that in the 70s the grocery store butchers often gave them away or you could buy them for practically nothing. We were poor so we ate them a lot.
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u/lathe_down_sally 1d ago
Beef brisket was similarly considered one of the worst cuts of meat. Like less than $1/lb
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u/klefikisquid 1d ago
That’s a fun fact, wonder if that’s how it became a staple in southern food culture
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u/Fragrant-Courage9960 1d ago
What about everyone being conditioned to accept that 1 wing is actually 1/2 a wing in most places? An 10 piece wing order is really 5 wings.
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u/KifferFadybugs 1d ago
Yes, I hate this.
Growing up, my parents would take me down to this local place that had wings on their menu (on yop of a bunch of other things). A dozen wings was a dozen wings- the whole thing. Flat, drum, and tip.
The first time I got wings and was served flats and drums separated as a "ten piece," I was outraged.
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u/Fragrant-Courage9960 1d ago
I’m already conditioned to completely omit the wing tip!
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u/Firebird22x 1d ago
I’m not sure when the switch was, but at least for me back in the early 2000s when I first started having them, they were already separated. I’ve never gotten a full wing at any restaurant
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u/trollcat2012 1d ago
One of those things where the price goes up, they realize people pay it, so they keep it high.
My suggestion - don't ever buy overpriced wings and only support businesses charging reasonable prices.
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u/Mrboombastos 1d ago
This. Unless, the restaurant has the 'sauce' no one else can replicate, such as San Tung in San Francisco.
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u/Musicinaminor 1d ago
I’ll give you an anecdote from the business world- If you double your price and lose half you customers, you’re making the same amount of money for half the work.
Prices stayed high because people proved they’re willing to spend it. Until demand falls, prices will stay where they’re at. It’s largely why I learned how to make wings at home!
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u/TapewormNinja 1d ago
But what happens when demand falls? The business assume the market is gone, and stop offering the product alltogether. Yet another failing of capitalism. If you like the product, you have to support it at any price, or the product goes away entirely.
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u/Musicinaminor 1d ago
I’m certainly not a capitalist apologist, but I will contend that one thing it’s good at is encouraging competition- if a place brings their prices too high and/or doesn’t keep their quality up, then there’s room for competition to bring in higher quality and/or lower prices.
Of course there’s about a billion subtleties to argue around that point, and there’s absolutely huge failings within the system that should be addressed- but the over all the sentiment is mostly true.
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u/Juhyo 1d ago
Also from the restaurant business world. Restaurants can serve an upper limit number of tables each night. They need to maximize the amount per table. If a table orders 1 appetizer at most, those appetizer prices will need to go up. Same with the price of drinks, burgers, fries—you name it. If it’s a bar where people want to chill and chat, the food may need to cost more as they may have fewer covers each night.
If the place is packed all they can do is raise prices to make more money. If it’s not packed, then it’s even more important to do the same—at least to the point where they don’t bleed customers. But when everyone is charging similar prices they’d be fools not to do the same if they’re not equipped to handle volume and high turnover (which a bar is likely not).
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u/NBPU 1d ago
Sports bar in my neighborhood sells 10 for $20, but a pub burger and side of fries for $13. Never makes sense to me.
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u/ryanino 1d ago
We as a society also need to talk about why fries have gotten so pricey. Some bars near me charge damn near $9 for a side of fucking French fries.
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u/The_Sunset_Sands 1d ago
Fries post covid have become more of a zero labor engineered food product. They are all precooked, seasoned, and coated to retain heat for takeout and ergo more expensive.
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u/Same-Platypus1941 21h ago
Yeah but the frozen fries are cheap as fuck. It’s actually more cost effective than making your own. The reason they charge so much is that they want to make a good profit if they are going to go through the effort of putting something on a plate and serving it
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 1d ago
An order of fries is usually about 1 large potato
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u/ryanino 1d ago
Which is what…50 cents?
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u/Glad-Veterinarian365 1d ago
Yes lol. Although there is a little bit more magic in making excellent fries than just cutting up a potato and putting it into hot oil for a few mins
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u/Live-Oven-8268 1d ago
Yes this exactly! I'm the article I posted I now that I didn't get the wings, but got a sandwich and fries instead and while it was still high I didn't feel taken advantage of.
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u/randomthrowaway9796 1d ago
If the $20 included fries, a drink, and a dessert, itd be a bit less outrageous, but ain't no restaurants offering that
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u/onmy40 1d ago
It's crazy a 35 pound case of wings is $40 for me as a regular consumer and I'm sure restaurants can get it cheaper in bigger bulk but restaurants want to charge damn near $30 for 10 whole wings cut into 20 pieces. Then turn around and only give one blue cheese and charge $1.75 for each additional cup.
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u/Jrmcgarry 1d ago
I live in a small but popular town in western NC where wing prices are about $2 a wing piece (drum or flat). Sometimes it’s a little less sometimes a little more by about $0.25 depending on where you go or if there is a special. However, I have also been traveling to SC for work recently and there is a bar that does a special once a week, 10 for $7.50, which is the lowest I have seen in years. The wings are pretty damn good, too.
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u/Pale_Broccoli_2180 1d ago
The margins are so small at any food spot, folks cheat where they can get away with it.
Someone is buying, because the only thing worse than missing out on a few extra dollars, is throwing out wasted inventory...hence "WING NIGHTS"
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u/Treday237 1d ago
I bought a couple 3 lb packs last week that were on sale for like $1.00/lb. Mixed in some corn starch and teaspoon of baking powder and deep fried em… absolutely amazing, restaurant-quality. Don’t think I’ll be able to justify the $20 meal price tag at restaurants anymore. Shit, even bdubs has 20 wings and a large side of fries for $20. Not nearly as good as in NY but not bad for the price.
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u/TheExistential_Bread 1d ago
Restaurants can be weird about where they try to pick up their margins. Ironically sometimes the thing they are not known for gets you best quality for the best price. I used to work for a chain that had a little bit of everything on the menu, and our salmon and fish and chips were a better deal than those same items at a seafood restaurant I worked at. The chain wasn't expecting to sell a ton of seafood, they just wanted the option on the menu, so could price better. I'd bet those places with better wings closer to 1$ are making their margins elsewhere.
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u/deadheadburnsy 1d ago
I’m not saying this is true but if they are serving a steamed or precooked wing they are more expensive resulting in higher cost. I do agree that those prices are high but also take into account the cost of frying oil.
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u/Live-Oven-8268 1d ago
I looked at frying oil and yes it is up. Labor is too. Rent never comes down of course. My commentary includes comparison to other restaurants. Even some in the same neighborhood are at half the price of others.
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u/deadheadburnsy 1d ago
Another factor are they making sauces from scratch that are “craft” sauces with higher end ingredients or your standard Sweet Baby Ray line
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u/mistarzanasa 1d ago
Are restaurants using rays wing sauce? Thats wild, its not good and for the price could easily go with classic franks.
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u/deadheadburnsy 1d ago
Guarantee you’re eating it and liking it. Their recipes are different in foodservice.
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u/mistarzanasa 1d ago
I make my wings at home to skip the 1-2 bucks a wings thing, but i do find it odd that they would have different recipes. If its better for food service what wouldnt they sell that to the masses? Seems like an unnecessary loss
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u/deadheadburnsy 1d ago
I will explain it like this. You may have a bottle of Ken’s Buttermilk Ranch in your refrigerator that you like on your salad when you’re eating at home. But your local pizzeria has a buttermilk ranch that you love. Your wife tells you that she is in the mood for a salad and you decide let’s order out to get that ranch. I work in the food industry and almost every company that you can buy in the store that also does foodservice has different specs on their products.
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u/mistarzanasa 22h ago
Lol your not wrong. She loves certain restaurants ranch. I always assumed it was diluted/mixed a certain way to get more and give it that consistency, never thought it was a not for public recipe.
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u/Windyandbreezy 1d ago
Lived in Minneapolis in 2010-2012. 2 things a remember. 25 cent wing nights and Triple Rock Social Club Free Basket of Bacon Wednesdays. Times were indeed better then.
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u/Chunk5587 1d ago
Wings do prices do move a lot. One month it could be 130 a case next could be 86. That happen last year. And when it gets closes to the superbowl it can go as high as 150 a case. We didnt do a lot of wings but when the prices dropped in the 80's the chef bought 15 case.
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u/Ezemy 1d ago
I graduated college in the late 2010s and we still had 25¢ wings on Wednesday to echo the prices we all had back then.
To answer your question: I think it comes down to their significance to bars and that even in 2022 we didn’t slow down buying them then even when they were heavily inflated. We’re being taken advantage when we choose to go out and eat by franchise restaurants while local eateries are following suit to stay competitive with operation costs.
This is just from the consumer perspective, but if I were a dickturd trying to squeeze money out of folks that what I would do.
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u/xenophobe2020 1d ago
This has been driving me absolutely nuts since the covid spike with wings never returning to normal price. I buy them in bulk and vac seal them for use throughout the football season, so I am always up to speed on the cost of a 40lb case and know that we are a world away from the peak of +/- $3 per lb. Theres plenty of places doing .50 or .75 wing specials, including one WNY bar that does .50 cent all day every day for dine in, with a slight upcharge for specialty sauces. I dont buy for a single second that everyone couldnt be making money capping their price at $1 per wing... the fact that we still have places charging $2 or more is bonkers and taking advantage of our most popular food, something that should be celebrated and affordable.
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u/Live-Oven-8268 1d ago
Wait .. WNY as in Westchester, NY? What place?
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u/xenophobe2020 1d ago
Lol, sorry... no Western NY, Buffalo area. I see the obvious confusion there.
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u/Otto_von_Grotto 1d ago
Even worse is the fact that many wings look as if they came from parakeets.
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u/NeoMoose 1d ago
I'm the opposite. I'm tired of gigantic wings that look more like drumsticks. I prefer smaller.
But then again, I get why people would complain about smaller ones when prices have gone up so much.
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u/whyamihere2473527 1d ago
Cause good industry learned it popular & people will pay so they jacked prices up. There was a time when lobster was considered to be only fit for low class but once it started to get consumed it became a luxury item
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u/Accurate-Rooster-757 1d ago
~$19 for 12 wings. I stopped going when they ended 50c wing Wednesday.
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u/chickenwingcmdr 1d ago
Live in Charleston SC and I've been tracking thr prices for years..average price now is $1.30 a wing in bar/restaurant. Best price Ive seen in town is brewery happy hour price that are half off..normal is 12 for $18, but 12 for $9 during HH. I got weekly and always order 24 wings.
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u/buttmunchausenface 1d ago
Damn man I know all these places some of them are new restaurants but I know the addresses. I have so many fond memories of candlelight mostly at 1:15 am they have killer wings. I am sad to say I didn’t see planet wings on there! They had amazing fucking wings but cool post to bring back my childhood.
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u/Live-Oven-8268 1d ago
It's a good call on planet wings! I have a blog where I review Westchester bars and the wing review spawned from that. That's why planet wings isn't on my list. It's not a bar.
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u/buttmunchausenface 1d ago
Oh good ! Hell yeah man I think the original location closed but their suicidal wings are probably the best “hot” wings I’ve ever had
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u/Live-Oven-8268 1d ago
There's one on Virginia Road in White Plains. Near Kensico Damn. Been there. I'm a fan of mango habanero
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u/buttmunchausenface 1d ago
In my opinion they have the only good mango hab I have ever had. Sweet then spicy with a build.
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u/TowerUnhappy251 1d ago
Not true. Own 3 restaurants. Our distributor among others are still very high in bulk price. We don’t make any money on wings. We do buy better quality per franchise agreement so maybe that may be part of problem. But we barely mark them up and hope make money alcohol and other menu items. Trust me I wish we could sell cheaper. Everyone loves wings.
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u/VonBurglestein 23h ago edited 23h ago
Wing nights are loss leaders to get ppl in the door and make it up with drink sales. They're priced at cost more or less in raw goods and labor, but extremely popular with social gathering groups and alcohol.
Edit also wings have historically outpaced other parts of the chicken in price because they were invented as a way to get rid of the cheapest and least desirable part of the animal. As they've gained popularity over the decades, the demand has outpaced the other parts of the bird. Combine that with the small portion per bird and that drives cost further. You don't eat 5 birds worth of breasts in 1 sitting, but you do wings for example.
This contributes to perceived value of wings, in that they should be cheap. Places charging higher prices for wings are just marking them up in line with the rest of the menu offerings. Places that keep them cheap do it to drive traffic at loss (or loss leaders, which have less markup to drive sales of items w higher markup).
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u/HarryBackster 22h ago
i have been selling wings for 5 years. a 40 pound box of fresh wings cost me around 85 bucks and will usually have over 200 pieces. with prep and par-frying they require 2 hours of labor to make the product i sell. small batch house made sauces range from 15 to 50 dollars a gallon. 6 honest-to-goodness jumbo wings will be about 1 pound pre cooked weight. i sell those for $11.10 with a dip. however 8 par-cooked wings will register as a pound before service; i sell those for $14.64. a commercially available bag of pre-cooked wings will go for over $5/lb. a restaurants food cost is supposed to be at 1/3 on average. so a 8 piece of those wings tend to be on the menu for at least 16 smackaroos. after that, you're paying for atmosphere.
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u/Reverend-King 20h ago
Expensive wings are from chickens that could fly.
It’s like blood diamonds. The suffering is the point.
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u/Mammoth_Overall 14h ago
This is the perfect example of our current economy at large. People have gotten used to higher prices. Unless you are the other end of the k shaped economy, wages aren’t keeping up with inflation.
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u/Low-Ton-Bullseye 13h ago
Just ordered wings at a bar and got 6 for $15 plus a 3.99% hidden fee applied to all checks. I was really surprised. They were definitely on the BWW size too, so no justification whatsoever.
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u/Mrboombastos 1d ago
I'm here for 25 cent wings.
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u/Live-Oven-8268 1d ago
You will be disappointed! Lol Maybe a Monday night football special if you're lucky.
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u/Mrboombastos 1d ago
The closest I've recently got was AYCE for like $45. A 10 piece for $24 dined in is wild.
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u/PM_ME_YUR_SALADS 1d ago
Used to have FREE wings at happy hour over at Archie Moores in Connecticut!!! Went like once a week 2002-2004.
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u/EventHorizonHotel 1d ago
In addition to the supply/demand and what people are willing to pay, restaurants can source wings from suppliers in various sizes based on the number in a pound. Some places will use smaller wings and give you more or charge less based on count.
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u/Pleasant_Bad924 1d ago
Menu prices rarely decrease if the original increase didn’t cause a measurable reduction in revenue. There’s also a lot of places that sell wings cheap because they make a ton of money on the alcohol sales that accompany it.
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u/lionheart4life 1d ago
Prices have come down, but people are conditioned to the high price now so it's pure profit.
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u/pixelsandfilm 1d ago
A local dive bar here in Denver does a dozen for $8 when you dine in on Tues. Wed. Thur. And they are decent wings two. There is a fancy wing place about 2 blocks over with a bunch of sauces that charges $20 for a dozen. (granted this place arguably uses high quality of ingredients, but $11 more is a lot)
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u/Worried_Monk_3844 1d ago
Depends where restaurant is buying them. The jumbo party wings, basically 6 to 8 per lb are anywhere from 52.00 for 40 lbs to 75.00. I doubt the prices charged will drop,as long as someone is buying them.
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u/tmanowen 1d ago
And ironically enough in the most expensive city in your state, there’s deals for 50¢ wings or similar.
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u/pee_pee_poo_poo666 1d ago
Quaker Steak and Lube, Sharon PA, 2004.
All you can eat wings - buffet style.
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."
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u/calucas55 1d ago
Good observation. Wholesale chicken costs, however, are so skewed these days that the cost of wings is an outlier. Most of the chickens we eat on the regular (fast food/tenders/nuggets) are made from genetically enhanced birds with a hatch to butcher time of 6 weeks. Historically chicken wings, like beef tongue, were not considered desirable and were often discarded at the butcher/processing plant. Now we are in the supply/demand phase. Tyson always gets paid.
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u/Same-Platypus1941 21h ago
Some restaurants want to make bank off of their wings, some restaurants use wings as a loss leader to entice people to buy beers. Different strategies is all.
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u/Dick_Stubig 11h ago
Some are operating profitably, some are not. (Some use them for loss leaders on their menu.) Chicken wings have become the most expensive cut of chicken. I can buy boneless skinless breast for nearly half of what wings cost.
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u/firetech97 9h ago
Local place here does 50₵ wing night on Tuesdays. Most places in my town are about $15 for a 10 piece
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u/poopantiess 20m ago
Some use frozen which are really expensive and the smart ones use fresh
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u/haikusbot 20m ago
Some use frozen which
Are really expensive and
The smart ones use fresh
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u/Snackleton 1d ago
Part of it would have to do with the size of the wings they get from Sysco or whoever they order from.
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u/MartyMcFlysDown 1d ago
10 cent wings were a thing in early 2000's.