Chicken wing squeeze
Mary Ann Wert is trying to remain unflappable about the spiraling cost of chicken wings.
“In the fall, as soon as they kick that pigskin, the price of chicken wings go up,” said Mrs. Wert, owner of the Wing Wagon on Public Square. “But this was the worst I’ve ever seen in the 28 years I’ve been open.”
It’s all a matter of supply flying in the face of demand.
Wing Wagon is a Watertown pioneer of the pungent poultry product. Mrs. Wert spoke a few weeks ago as she took turns going from the kitchen to the checkout counter before a lunch rush. A wall opposite the counter is dotted with letters of appreciation and thank-you notes from organizations and individuals in the community.
Chicken wings came into fashion in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. A co-owner there cooked leftover wings in hot sauce as a late-night snack for her son and his friends, according to the National Chicken Council. The boys liked them so much that wings were on the menu the next day.
Mrs. Wert said she spent $60 per 40-pound case for wings last year and has been spending $84 since the National Football League playoffs started in January. Despite the NFL season being over, prices have not dropped and her profits have been clipped.
When Mrs. Wert and her husband, Charles, opened Wing Wagon in 1982, customers paid $2.49 for 10 wings. Now it costs $7.60.
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