John Young, the Real Chicken Wing King Is Remembered
By Eva M. Doyle
Lina Renee Young and Christie
On Saturday, January 6, 2024, this Columnist joined hundreds in the community who came together to remember John Young, the Real Chicken Wing King and his Famous “Mambo Sauce.” His daughter, Lina Renee Young has been working hard during the last few years to honor her father and remember his legacy as a businessman in Buffalo.
A press conference was held in the African American Heritage Corridor, located at 136 Broadway to introduce the Famous Mambo Sauce to the community. Many people who attended the program remembered John Young’s restaurants where hundreds came to purchase his wings with the Mambo Sauce. John Young owned a restaurant at 1313 Jefferson Avenue at the corner of East Utica. People lined up around the corner to purchase his wings with the Mambo Sauce.
Bottles of the Mambo Sauce were available for sale during the program. It was an opportunity to taste the delicious sauce. In less than two hours the bottles of sauce were gone and more had to be ordered. This was a good opportunity for the new generation who did not grow up in the early sixties to experience this sauce that Mr. Young created. As I listened to the conversation of those who attended, people were excited to see that John Young was being remembered. It was a diverse crowd at this event. During the beginning of the program, his daughter Lina Renee Young gave a brief history of her father and his creation of the Mambo Sauce. I spoke to Ms. Young by phone and she stated that the sauce was a “secret family” recipe that she was able to find to reintroduce the sauce. The front of the bottle features a drawing of John Young with a Crown on head, a most appropriate illustration for the King of the Wings.
John Young, the Real Chicken Wing King
The recognition of John Young by the community today is long overdue. The credit goes to his daughter Lina Young who never gave up in remembering her father. Today, many young people now know of his legacy. Buffalo is known for the chicken wings all over the country. Now the real history of Buffalo’s chicken wings is included. In the early days Blacks ate wings and other parts of the chicken that no one wanted. In fact, they were thrown away. The wings were the least desirable part of the chicken. Today what we know as soul food came out of the struggle of Blacks to survive. John Young made the chicken wings popular. He did not get the credit that he deserved at the time. However, in 1982, the Buffalo Common presented him with a proclamation that gave him credit for creating the great Mambo Sauce to go with his wings. Jim Pitts, a Councilman at that time called the sauce: “a lip-smacking, liver quivering sauce that was felt down to your toes.” This quote appears on the front of the bottle today.
This Columnist would like to see a historical plaque on the corner of Jefferson and East Utica citing John Young as the Real Chicken Wing King of Buffalo.” Congratulations to his daughter, Lina Young, for making sure that her father is remembered!!