Hot wings & brews: New Wing Order opening inside Ghost River Brewing Co.
Is there any better match than a cold beer and spicy hot wings? The folks at Ghost River Brewing Co. and New Wing Order are betting you agree.
The award-winning food truck New Wing Order is opening a brick-and-mortar location on June 1 inside the Ghost River Brewing Co. taproom at 341 Beale St.
“While Ghost River has established itself as an oasis on Beale, the addition of New Wing Order will take us to the next level: Great beer, great atmosphere, great food, what's not to like?” said Bob Keskey, Ghost River Brewing Co. owner.
Keskey added he is excited for the new partnership and the offerings that will be part of the new restaurant’s menu. “While chicken wings are their staple, they are using this opportunity to increase their offerings by creating additional menu selections," he said. "They are so much more than just a ‘wing place.’”
Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant has been a goal of New Wing Order owners Cole Forrest and Jesse McDonald since day one.
“Ultimately we always wanted to open a brick-and-mortar location,” Forrest said. “We used the food truck to develop the menu and figure out the best place to be.”
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New Wing Order was started as a competition cooking team in 2013 by a group of hot wing enthusiasts who wanted to create perfect flavors for every appetite — mild to scorching hot, sauced or dry rubbed, local to international favorites, and everything in between. Eventually countless hours in the test kitchen resulted in trophies on the competition circuit, including several Hot Wing Grand Championships and a slew of other awards.
Eventually, Forrest and McDonald decided to open a food truck. New Wing Order hit the roads in fall 2018.
The new restaurant is the next step for the growing company.
"The food truck has been an awesome journey and the response to New Wing Order has been amazing. Having a loyal following makes me incredibly proud," McDonald said. "But the thing with a food truck, especially an older truck like ours, is there is only so much you can do and lately it’s on a daily basis that we are turning down services or saying, 'Sorry we’re closed' to customers. We knew it was time to expand and the ultimate dream was to have a restaurant."
The centerpiece of the menu will, of course, be New Wing Order’s award-winning chicken wings. Guests will be able to choose from jumbo party wings or boneless wings tossed in your choice of 17 sauces and 11 dry seasonings.
The new restaurant is more than just a hot wing joint, though. The menu will be significantly expanded beyond the current food truck offerings.
“We will have appetizers, entrees and a Sunday brunch menu,” Forrest said. “We have been experimenting with some of the items on the food truck and have gotten great feedback.”
McDonald added: "I'm very excited to bring the food truck menu to Beale Street. Our unique wing flavors, nachos and fried avocado tacos have turned into hits. But I'm just as excited to introduce new items like a shareable sausage and cheese plate, quesadillas, sandwiches and hopefully even dipping back into the food that started it for me: barbecue."
Shareable starters will include items like fried cheese curds, avocado fries and the aforementioned Memphis-style sausage and cheese platter.
Popular food truck items like the Smokehouse Loaded Fries (crispy fries topped with house-made queso, bacon crumbles, pico de gallo, ancho chipotle sauce and queso fresco crumbles) and the Buffalo Chicken Taco will be featured on the new restaurant menu alongside an expanded selection of signature nachos, loaded fries and tacos. Sandwiches, chicken finger baskets and salads will also be part of the offerings.
New Wing Order will open at Ghost River Brewing Company on June 1 with a limited menu. The restaurant will celebrate its grand opening on June 11 and debut the full restaurant menu then.
The restaurant will be open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday and will serve lunch Friday-Sunday.
Forrest said the food truck will continue to operate, setting up at other breweries around town as well as at special events.
"We have grown so much in the past 3? years, we couldn't handle the demand with just the food truck," Forrest said. "Having a real kitchen, plus a large indoor and outdoor venue, will enable us to do more catering and special events. It's a win for us and our customers."
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at [email protected] and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.
New Wing Order
Where: Ghost River Brewing Company Taproom, 341 Beale St.
Hours: 4-11 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; noon-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday
Online: newwingorder.com
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: New Wing Order to open restaurant inside Ghost River Brewing Co.
