The pairing of pizza and chicken wings has become a staple on fast-casual menus, with nearly every pizza chain offering the iconic combo. This popular duo has been a fixture since the 1990s, combining the comfort of a cheesy pizza with the crispy appeal of chicken wings. But to truly understand how this trend began, we need to trace its roots back to Buffalo, New York, in the 1950s.
The origin of the pizza-and-wing combination is somewhat unclear, but Buffalo’s La Nova Pizza, a long-standing favorite, is often credited with helping to popularize it. Founded in 1957 by father-and-son duo Joe Todaro Sr. (Papa Joe) and Joe Todaro Jr. (Big Joe), La Nova began as a family-run pizzeria. However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that Big Joe’s son, Joey Todaro (the third generation of Joes), realized something unique about the pizza scene in Buffalo: It was the only place in the country where pizza shops served deep-fried wings alongside their pies.
In an interview with PizzaMarketPlace.com, Joey Todaro recalled how he and his sister, Carla, convinced their father to take their wings mainstream. “The country didn’t seem to have them, and people came from all over to get our wings,” Todaro explained. “So I thought, ‘Why can’t we duplicate ours for the pizza industry?’” While Big Joe initially had doubts, he ultimately supported his children’s vision, believing they represented the future of the pizza business.
The Todaros’ venture into the wing business in 1994 came at a time when Buffalo wings were still a relatively new dish. A few decades earlier, when La Nova Pizza was first opening, chicken wings were considered a lesser cut of meat. It wasn’t until the 1960s that restaurants like Wings and Things and Anchor Bar in Buffalo began serving the now-famous fried, saucy wings that would become synonymous with the city’s food scene.
The exact origins of Buffalo wings remain debated, with some attributing the invention to Frank and Teressa Bellissimo of Anchor Bar, while others suggest they were inspired by John Young’s Black-owned Wings and Things, just down the street. Regardless of who first popularized the style, both establishments played crucial roles in Buffalo’s chicken wing boom.
By 1994, Joey and Carla Todaro launched La Nova Wings, Inc. at the International Pizza Expo, where they championed the idea of serving chicken wings alongside pizza. While La Nova Pizza wasn’t the first to combine the two, they were the first to turn it into a nationwide phenomenon. Today, La Nova Wings, Inc. is recognized for its role in introducing chicken wings to the pizza industry and has sold billions of wings since its inception.
What started as the simple combination of two popular party foods has since transformed the food industry, proving that sometimes, innovation comes from the most delicious places.
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