Wings of gold
Chicken wings, the favorite indulgence of so many in Butler County and beyond, are causing a flap for restaurant owners and their customers.
The traditionally affordable treat is becoming hard to come by, which drives the prices up for restaurant owners.
To scratch out a profit, restaurateurs are passing that additional cost onto customers.
Josh Novotny, owner of Novotny's Pizza in Saxonburg, said while his price of $24 for a dozen jumbo wings ruffles some customers' feathers, he still sells as many as ever.
“The pricing is ridiculous,” Novotny said. “It makes me sick to my stomach that I am charging $24 for a dozen wings.”
He said he goes through about 400 pounds of wings per week, which are supplied from three vendors.
“From what I understand, it's not a chicken thing; it's that the manufacturers don't have the people to (work),” Novotny said. “(Factory employees) had to social distance, so there were not as many people in there, and now they can't get them back.”
He considered capping the cost of a dozen wings at $20, but the dish is a huge seller on Friday and Saturday nights.
“To do that and not make any money was hard,” Novotny said.
He said most customers pay the price to get their crispy, saucy snack.
“Once in a while they'll say, 'Why is my order so much?'” Novotny said. “Two orders of wings is $50, and add a pizza and your bill is $65.”
At first, he considered ordering fewer wings with the thought that customers' orders would drop because of the price.
But very few customers squawked about the cost of their wings, so he decided that was a birdbrained idea.
“I'm still selling out of them and selling around the same amount as I always do,” Novotny said.
He said last year he paid half what he now pays for a case of wings.
“I'm going to keep selling them as long as people keep buying them,” Novotny said.
He said his main vendor, who studies chicken wing consumption and trends, found that a corridor exists between Slippery Rock and the Sarver area where customers prefer whole wings instead of the wing being cut into a drumette and a flat portion.
“Everywhere else in the world, they like cut wings. I like cut wings,” Novotny said. “But that corridor sells more full-size wings than any other area in the country.”
The wings he does manage to buy remain high quality.
Novotny crowed about his wings, saying he suggests customers get their choice of his nine sauces on the side, so the wings will remain crispy.
“We're constantly making wings,” he said. “We cook them 18 minutes from fresh. We don't like to freeze them and we don't precook.”
Kate Shuler, commander at American Legion Post 117 in Butler, said she cannot in good conscience charge the county's veterans $50 for a few orders of chicken wings.“I've thought about that, but we want to keep our prices where the veterans can afford them,” she said. “Many are on a fixed income or don't have family. I don't want them to come here and not be able to eat.”The cost for a dozen jumbo wings on the regular menu is $16, and the price during each Thursday's wing night rose from 50 cents per wing to $1.Shuler said the Legion was able to charge 50 cents per wing in the past because the post's Sons of the American Legion donated 50 cents per wing, netting the Legion $1 per piece.So, the wings now are really $1.50, but the Sons kick in the extra 50 cents to keep costs down to $1 for the vets.“It's all about our veterans,” Shuler said. “That's my No. 1 concern.”She said the cooks at the post go through six to eight cases of wings per week and use 18 sauces and numerous dry rubs once they come flying out of the deep fryer.When stock is getting low, Shuler or another post official hops in their car and drives to a meat market to buy a case of wings.“We're always exploring other meat markets,” Shuler said.She stressed that only members and their guests are admitted to the Legion to purchase wings or any other food.
Debra Krelow, owner of the Beacon Hotel, 291 Renfrew Road, said that prices have gone up from $80 a case for jumbos last year to $130 a case this year, a more than 60% increase.Six jumbos cost $8 for the bunch, but the price will have to increase as her prices from the distributor have risen.She orders about 10 cases a week and is freezing some for special events.It's not the chicken that's in short supply, Krelow said.“It's so bad,” she said. “We are hearing so many different reasons. Supplies from Tyson and Perdue are tight because the processors can't get help. They can't get the workers to process them.”Krelow said she is most likely to raise the price to $12 for six jumbos, because right now her chicken menu prices are barely break-even.
Judy Ferree, owner of the Hotel Saxonburg, said she no longer offers chicken wings because vendors are only supplying restaurants that have them on the menu full-time.Wings were offered occasionally as a special at the Hotel Saxonburg.“We can't get them,” Ferree said.She said all food and even paper products are increasing in cost every week.So, her chefs peruse the vendors' offerings daily and purchase affordable items, which they expertly fashion into various dishes.“The whole past year, we created a menu based on what we can get,” Ferree said.She said her chef declares that purveyors are sitting on products to drive prices up, but Ferree wonders if employee shortages in food plants and among trucking companies isn't the reason.“They just keep throwing us curve balls,” Ferree said. “It's never dull.”<i>Special Sections Editor Andy Andrews contributed to this report.</i>
