HUDSONVILLE, Mich. — While it’s common to hear stories of restaurants struggling – and closing – during the pandemic, the owners of the three locations of Wing Doozy are grateful to have a different struggle. They are working hard to keep with demand on the weekends.
Demand for wings.
“We're known for being voted the best wings in West Michigan on multiple occasions from different places, customer service, friendly faces, and good food,” says co-owner Todd Penning while he stands in the Hudsonville store. “Our most popular (sauces) are spicy garlic parm, which is a little bit different; It's like a reddish-orange sauce. And our Tennessee bourbon is a little bit sweeter but has a tiny little kick to it.”
The demand for their hand-cut, hand breaded wings spikes on the weekends. "We've increased staff,” says Penning. “Our phones, especially on the weekends, ringing off the hook.”
“We've got two or three people answering the phones all night long. We've got two or three people running food out to cars for the entire night. And then we've got a full kitchen staff in the back just to try and keep up with everything.”
That reference to “running food out to cars” is crucial to the survival of most restaurants right now. And Wing Doozy does most of their business on the phone, taking orders, taking payments, and then “running food out to cars.”
“We've been extremely blessed to be able to continue to do that,” Penning adds. “We just feel extremely blessed that people continue to support us and support our mission of making people happy and making employees happy and providing a good product. I think in this day and age, people want to support local, and there's a lot of good local restaurants around.”
Wing Doozy:
- 3424 Chicago Dr., Hudsonville, 616-379-4114
- 2359 Health Dr., Wyoming, 616-228-8855
- 3916 Plainfield Avenue NE Grand Rapids, 616-608-3067
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