There’s more chicken in town. Wingstop has returned to the Pittsburgh area.
Customers were already inside the restaurant before its grand opening at noon on Dec. 19. The new Wingstop is nestled in Bill Green’s Shopping Center at 10 Old Clairton Road in Pleasant Hills.
By noon, a bustle of customers were entering to place their orders, waiting 10 to 15 minutes for their food to arrive.
Marilyn Ramsey skimmed the menu excitedly as she sat with her two friends contemplating on what to order. The Homestead resident said she would see the Wingstop while driving to church down the street.
“I have been anticipating this,” she said.
Douglas Webb of Clairton looked forward to trying the restaurant for the first time after seeing commercials on TV. He ordered hickory smoked BBQ, garlic Parmesan and lemon pepper wings.
“This is big for the area,” Webb said.
Wingstop has 12 flavors — including a limited flavor, Carolina Flavor BBQ — and offers traditional and boneless wings. Chicken sandwiches, introduced in August, have become a popular meal. The food is made to order and hand-tossed in sauce.
A 15-piece meal for two costs $20.99 (for boneless wings) to $23.49 (for classic). The sandwiches (with pickles in your choice of flavor and with one dip) start at $5.49.
Customers are able to order inside or for to-go in addition to having food delivered.
The new location comes after Wingstop shuttered its two previous restaurants here in 2017.
“We saw the area as somewhere we could put gusto behind,” spokesperson Maddie Lupori said. “It felt like it was the right time.”
She said there are 1,900 Wingstop locations worldwide; its first establishment opened in 1994 in Garland, Texas.
Colleen Fichter of the South Side visited the Pleasant Hills Wingstop with a friend to try out the food. She said she liked what she tried and is excited to have another restaurant in the area.
“I think it will be a good dinner option,” she said.
The franchise is set to open two more locations — 1609 Braddock Ave. in Edgewood Town Centre and 4885 McKnight Road in Ross. Lupori said the company is committed to opening 14 additional restaurants around Allegheny County over the next three years.
Tanisha is a digital content producer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but she's currently on strike.