Wild Wing Cafe officially opened Friday in the EpiCentre, just in time for the weekend's NFL playoffs. The uptown location joins two others in Charlotte.
I checked it out during a pre-opening party Thursday night and found it to be a traditional sports bar with one of the best TV setups uptown. At any given spot in the bar, I could see at least four large flatscreen TVs to check out the score of the Orange Bowl. And while it's a large space (about the size of BlackFinn, except all on one level), there's only one bar -- but that didn't slow down service at all. It was well-staffed and servers were attentive.
The menu boasts 33 different flavors of wings from mild to habanero hot, and offers several different beers on tap.
Decor is as you would expect in a sports-bar chain -- lots of wood, lots of neon and a thin haze of cigarette smoke. There's also a large stage where the bar plans to host live music acts. Tokyo Joe performed Saturday after the Panthers game and U-Phonik played during the grand opening party Friday.
All in all it's a nice up-to-date addition to sports-bar options uptown and should give Hooters a good run, especially for those seeking decent wings without a side of boobs.
33 comments:
I wish we had gone there instead of BlackFinn. The supposed "Pep Rally" there never happened, and I never saw any Panthers come in. We were there until about 6:30. What a ripoff!! They just wanted to get you in there to sell beer and food. Never again......
Sarah, is there a central website where we can see listings for all restaurants/shops in EpiCentre? I have looked but have not come across anything...
I'm not usually a fan of chains but WWC is the bomb! I go there every time I go down to Charleston.
Sip, here's the EpiCentre website
That site is very out-of-date - "movie theater possibly opening in November 2008". I e-mailed them about a month ago to ask them to update it and the e-mail bounced back! Not very good PR.
Sounds great except for the smoke haze. When will people learn that it is stupid and obnoxious to polute their lungs and our air!!!
Let me echo the last commenter - it has obviously been several months since this site was updated - theatre to open in mid-November? Bowling alley to open by year's end? It would be nice to have an updated site and map of EpiCentre. The wife & I went there for the first time on Christmas to catch a movie and got so lost trying to find a way for a wheelchair user to get to the theater that we missed the movie we wanted to see. Too many ways to get lost for rookies.
I agree with Anonymous, I could do with out the smokey haze. At the very least they should install some type of air filtration system, better yet, go smoke free.
When will Charlotte ban smoking in public places like all real cities already do?
Wild Wing Cafe is Great! What is a bar without the thick haze of second hand smoke?
Plumes of toxic gas that coat your wings and cover your clothes.
I'll have a bucket of beer, a plate of "Brave Heart" wings and a side of carcinogen, oh and supersize me!
Following up on the original comment regarding Black Finn...that place is easily the worst addition so far to Epicentre. I would strongly recommend not even wasting your time going there. When the place first opened all the workers said "oh yeah, we're a sports bar, no cover charge, come on in." Now you go there and its 5 bucks to get in and stand around all cramped up with dudes rubbing all up on you. I guess that is cool if you are a girl, but I don't know. At least the other bars in Epicentre have some type of identity, this one has none. Sports bar? Hardly. During the college football season they reserve out the entire upstairs to private groups, so that eliminates the chance to get a seat in half the bar. At night they turn that upstairs into some type of dance club...where dudes rub up all over you. Not sure what they are going for here, what is this place? Other than what the other person said, a "ripoff"!
Why do people smoke, seriously? Do you guys still think it is COOL to smoke, like back in the 80s? Does it make you some type of elitist in your mind? Or do you just have problems with addictions?
I'm not trying to be mean. Just trying to understand why you enjoy smelling like garbage.
I won an autographed Steve Smith jersey at the Pep Rally, and my son won a 50$ gift certificate. Don't know where you were??? This was at about 7:30pm, and the players came at 8, after their late practice. The DJ announced several times what was going on. Tooooo many drinks maybe? We met Basanez, Gibson, and Smith....someone said Beason showed up as a surprise but I cannot verify that. All in all we had a great time. It was late to start, but all things are really.
To Anon 11:11, the official BlackFinn press release said the Pep Rally was to start at 5:00 P.M. We were there for an hour and a half, until 6:30, which is more than long enough. Maybe the DJ announced when you were there, but didn't when I was there. And no, I didn't have "too many drinks." It's beneficial not to LIE in advertising about starting times.
Panthers had a late practice Friday night, called by John Fox late in the day. I guess it wasn't enough. We still lost :(
How long before Wild Wing starts charging a cover charge to get in too? Can't wait to pay a $5 cover to eat shriveled up chicken wings.
There is an air filter at the Wild Wing to help with the smoke.
On another note, do you really think public smoking will be banned in the tobacco state? Really?
Hope everyone else had a great time too despite the loss.
Wild Wing doesn't charge a cover at any of their locations and this new one will be no different. The "exclusive" whatever BS atmosphere isn't really the image they want.
Actually, the Wild Wing in Greenville, SC charges a cover charge on the weekends upstairs when they have a band. A lot of bands don't get paid a set amount from the bar. They just take a percentage of the cover charge the bar charges.
Im laughing at you guys cause in a real city like NY or DC you would never enter a bar for less than 10, 20, 25 whatever, and you guys can't afford 5! No wonder Charlotte has yet to become a "real" city
If being a "real city" means I have to hand over $20 bucks to smell like an ashtray, I vote we just stay whatever you call Charlotte.
Charlotte the Not Real City?
Oh me, there's got to be one in every group. "HEY HEY, IF THIS WAS A REAL FRIGGIN' CITY LIKE NYC WE'D GET TO PAY 25 BUCKS TO GET IN BARS!"
Go have another Heineken and Jager Bomb buddy. You are free to hang out in a "real city" if paying expensive cover charges is your kinda thing.
DD Peckers off of Park Rd Ext. has the best wings in town anyways. I'll put there HoT Gold up against the competition for anything flavorwise. Keep up the good work!!!
So Thomas wait...you are talking about a place called 'DD Peckers', and it has wings called HOTGold?? What type of establishment is this, do they have ladies dancing on a stage and on tables? Or maybe since its called DDPeckers they have guys dancing around? Noooo thank you. And who wants to drive 30 minutes out to Park Road extension?
If you want wings then sit in a smokey bar with your bib on and blue cheese dripping from your mouth; if you want to stand with your arms to your side, pay a cover and see sweaty people go to BlackFinn. If you want to enjoy a glass of wine and great food while watching the game (with an added of bonus of seeing some of the QC's most classiest and beautiful women)- go to MEZ.
If you're talking wings in Charlotte, there is only one word to know...Moosehead!
If I own the bar I should be able to allow my customers to smoke. Has anyone ever heard of property rights???
The person commenting about cover charges wasn't saying they wanted to pay expensive cover charges. They were saying that $5 is a cheap cover charge and compared to lots of other cities it is cheap yet people still complain. Just like the people who complain about parking Uptown. $5-8 is not expensive at all, especially if you are with people you can split the cost of parking! Geez, a lot of you need reading comprehension and a life.
Why is banning smoking INSIDE such a big deal? They aren't banning smoking altogether. If you want to smoke go OUTSIDE and smoke! Nobody wants to breath in your toxic fumes. In other cities with smoking bans, people go outside and smoke and life goes on. It ain't that big of a deal!!!
to anonymous, no DDPeckers isn't some sort of erotic joint. its just a good ole fashiond bar off the beaten path. Well worth the drive for the wings alone, but the other menu items r great. They actually have real philly cheese steaks there, wit wiz. And hot gold refers to a spicy SC BBQ(Mustard style) topping, it goes great on anything chicken; sandwiches, tenders, wings. It rivals moosehead for sure and i was dissappointed it wasn't included in the wing championship last year held by the observer.
Why do you want the gov't to tell business or people what they can or cannot do? Cigarettes and cigars are a legal product, so business owners should be allowed to decide if they want to allow customer's to smoke. Bottome line if you don't like smoking don't go to that restuarant. Let the market place decide.
"In a real city you would never enter a bar for less than $25?"
Thats BS and you're a idiot for saying that. Any real bar doesn't have to charge a cover. Even in a so-called "real city". The only ones that do have to charge else no one would go. Because they depend on people like you to think they're worth it because they charge to get in. Think about that, unless it makes your head hurt.
well blackfinn and the other places have to charge a cover to keep out the homeless people that the city allows to walk the streets
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