Restaurant owners have seen an increase in the price for chicken wings in the last few years. Chicken (especially the throw-away wings) was once so cheap, but the popular demand for it has put pressure on supply for restaurants all over.
The more restaurants add wings to their menu the more the prices go up. Does that mean restaurant owners have had to change the menu prices for wings? No local restaurants in Buffalo were willing to talk (hang-ups and no call-backs).
However, the demand for chicken wings is causing restaurant and bar owners all over to raise menu prices and threatening to put some out of business. The wholesale price of wings rose 39 percent from 2008 to 2009. (See this USA Today story.)
According to The National Chicken Council, the answer isn't to raise more chickens. In fact, some restaurants are working around the wing price hike by offering "boneless chicken wings" made of breast meat. The profit margin tends to be higher and they attract people who don't like the idea of pulling meat off of bones.
According to Richard Lobb, spokesman for the Washington-based chicken industry trade
group the National Chicken Council, the primary factor driving up wing prices is the growing number of restaurants. That includes many national chains that are adding wings to their menus.
Restaurants today not only have to worry about the prices of wings going up, but changing
their menu prices for wings in a terrible economy. How are customers going to respond to paying more to enjoy their wings?
And just imagine if Buffalo had secured a registered trademark...
Could Anchor Bar have landeda registered trademark for "Buffalo Wings" ? Could the City have done it?