Eats Beat

Anchor Bar of Buffalo, New York, wings fame to open North Texas restaurant

Anchor Bar, the Buffalo, New York, restaurant that claims to have originated Buffalo wings 60 years ago, will open an Arlington location.

The restaurant has begun a Texas expansion and already has opened locations in Round Rock and San Antonio, serving a full menu of pizzas, burgers, salads and wings with a choice of 25 rubs or sauces.

Anchor Bar will open in The Village at Ballpark shopping center, 2150 E. Lamar Blvd. near Ballpark Way, according to a real estate agent’s announcement.

The location is north of Interstate 30, 1 mile west of Texas 360 and 1½ miles from AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field.

The hot wing as we know it was invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York.
The hot wing as we know it was invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Larry Olmstead USA TODAY NETWORK

Anchor Bar lays claim to originating Buffalo wings on March 4, 1964, when the Bellisimo family fashioned them from discarded chicken parts as a late-night snack for a son and friends.

Another restaurateur, John Young, had been serving them at his Wings & Things restaurant in the Black business district as early as 1960, his family has claimed. Several Buffalo restaurants advertised “barbecued” wings.

The founder of national competitor Duff’s Famous Wings, Ron Duff, has said he dined at Young’s before Anchor Bar claims to have served wings.

Duff’s operates a North Texas location at 2787 E. Southlake Blvd., Southlake.

This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 3:52 PM.

Bud Kennedy’s Eats Beat
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat. Support my work with a digital subscription
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