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Wingnutz serves some of the best chicken wings in the Buffalo, N.Y., area. Now, sixth generation Floridian and Bartow native, Pat Spinosa, 33, is bringing those wings to Lakeland.
The new restaurant, located in the former Good Thyme location behind the Dixieland mall, is scheduled to open Thursday, May 14. Spinosa said a grand opening party with live music and give-aways is in the works.
Spinosa started spending a lot of time in Buffalo — the city where Anchor Bar co-owner, Teressa Bellissimo, first started cooking deep fried chicken wings in peppery hot sauce in 1964 — after he became friends with Josh Allen, quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.
“Those guys and girls just know how to cook a chicken wing,” Spinosa said. “You can go to a gas station in Buffalo and they got good chicken wings.”
It started at Knights of Columbus
The original owners behind Wingnutz, Ed and Alisha Wrazen, began serving wings out of a Knights of Columbus banquet hall in Buffalo in 2018. Orders were placed via Facebook messenger, and service stopped each day when the wings ran out.
In 2021, the hole-in-the-wall received national attention and opened their first dedicated restaurant.
But when Ed started having health issues, he planned to close. That’s when Chris Cavallari and AJ Giordano stepped in, buying the restaurant from the Wrazens in 2022 to keep the place open. Ethan Stack and Spinosa joined the ownership team in 2025.
“There’s something about people in Buffalo — the blue collar, hard working ethic, foodies — there’s something to be said about Buffalo, N.Y., that I’m just a huge fan of,” Spinosa said. “My goal is to bring a little bit of Buffalo to Lakeland.”
Great wings, good culture, and football
Spinosa said Wingnutz has his favorite wing in Buffalo, but investing in the restaurant and bringing Wingnutz to Lakeland is about more than just wings.
“They have a really good team. They have a good culture that’s very important to me,” Spinosa said. “Employees enjoy working there because they know they’re going to see smiles on people’s faces.”
The Wingnutz owners have made some changes to the alley location to better accomodate the restaurant. They’ve added a large deck, and the outside area will eventually be fully covered, with seating for about 60 guests, a bar serving beer and wine, and four TVs.
“Our goal is to keep people in Lakeland, specifically on the weekends,” Spinosa said. “I want to give the people a place that they can come and watch games and not have to go to Tampa or Orlando or other places — a place in their backyard to come watch their favorite teams play ball.”
He’s said they’re planning to have a lot of weekend events, especially during football season.
The menu will include bone-in wings, boneless wings, sandwiches, tacos, salads, and more Buffalo staples: beef on weck, thinly sliced slow-roasted angus top round piled roll and served with sides of au jus and horseradish, and pizza logs, crispy egg rolls stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.
“We got a couple little surprises on the appetizer list that will be, let’s just say, very Florida friendly,” Spinosa said, later admitting the menu will include gator tail.
Wingnutz Lakeland is the restaurant’s fourth location. They will be open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. “But expect seven days a week when football starts,” Spinosa said.
There are three Wingnutz locations and a food truck in the Buffalo area. Spinosa said there is definitely a Wingnutz food truck in Lakeland’s future.
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