NORFOLK, Va. — It’s Super Bowl weekend! Scores of Americans are hosting or attending game day gatherings or heading out to their favorite bar or restaurant to watch the game.
Joe Hammer, the owner of Norfolk’s Wings N Things, says Super Bowl Sunday is one of the busiest times of the year for his chicken wing business.
“We’ve already got orders for about 1,200 pieces, and we’ll probably do two and a half to three times that,” Hammer said. “We’ll do about 3,000 wings, maybe more. We’ll keep going until we run out.”
Americans are expected to eat nearly 1.5 billion chicken wings over Super Bowl weekend, and people here in Hampton Roads are doing their part to contribute to that number.
Hammer says he’s expecting to sell as many wings on Sunday as he would in a week.
“It’s like doing a whole extra week in a day,” Hammer said. “We’re just trying to get ready — doing all the sauces, getting all the ranch and the blue cheese ready. Making sure we’ve got enough chicken!”
First-time customer Rich Gayle said he unfortunately has to work Sunday night, so he’ll likely miss the big game. He said game day weekend is always a good excuse to get one of his favorite game day snacks, however.
“I’m a chicken wing person,” Gayle said. “I’m really waiting to try these wings to give them a critique but they’re definitely a Super Bowl food — for sure!”
Hammer said the restaurant started prepping weeks ago — taking orders, organizing ingredients, and getting all the wings ready for the deep fryer.
“Our first pre-order was January 31st. People were ordering two weeks out, people started asking for menus in the middle of January, seeing if we were running any specials,” Hammer said. “I’ll be here cooking probably at least until halftime. I’ll hope to catch the end and the highlights on the Internet.”
If you’re cooking at home, according to the USDA, the price of fresh wings is down 5% compared to 2023. If you get them frozen, you’ll save up to 11%.