World Famous Restaurant That Invented the Buffalo Wing Is Coming to Orange County

Buffalo, New York-based restaurant group Anchor Bar is coming to Southern California, landing a small new franchise space down in Orange County. The restaurant is most famous for its claim of having invented the modern Buffalo chicken wing.

Anchor Bar began life in 1964 as a dive-y sort of East Coast spot for locals to hang out, drink, and snack. As the story goes, co-owner Teressa Bellissimo fried up and sauced some wings (then usually just thrown into the stock pot) for a few friends one night on a whim, and in that moment the Buffalo wing was born. Over the years the company has begun to heavily franchise, leading to locations not only across Western New York in cities like Rochester but all the way out to Michigan, Texas, and across the border to various locations in greater Ontario, Canada.

The upcoming O.C. outlet of Anchor Bar lands in a busy shopping center off Katella Avenue in the city of Orange, just across the river from the Honda Center and Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Reps for the company have confirmed the expansion, but don’t yet have a timeline for opening. Expect something in late 2019 or early 2020, most likely.

Meanwhile, Anchor Bar will be appearing at next week’s Wing Fest at the Mel’s Drive-In on Sunset Boulevard. The Off the Menu-run event features wings from a variety of places around town, including Pizzeria Mozza, Button Mash, Banh Oui, Crossroads, the Greyhound, and 40 Love with Slab chef Burt Bakman. The event will also have Mr. Chow in the VIP section, and Anchor Bar as a special guest, with tickets running $45 for unlimited wings, $75 for unlimited wings and beer, and $135 for the VIP section.

Anchor Bar. 1547 W. Katella Ave., Orange, CA.

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