Gordon and Emerie Duke stood outside their new restaurant, Wildcat Wings, on its opening day Tuesday. The business is at 1001 Elizabeth St. in Nicholasville. (Photo by Jonathan Kleppinger / October 17, 2011) |
A Nicholasville couple had a Final Four party last year and drove all the way to Lexington to pick up wings. On the way back, Gordon Duke and his now-wife, Emerie, had a sudden realization.
“We thought, ‘Man, it’d be nice to have a wing place here in town,’” Gordon said. “We went from there and started that next day.”
The result is Wildcat Wings, a sports-bar restaurant that opened Tuesday at 1001 Elizabeth St. in Nicholasville, just off Lexington Road.
Gordon and Emerie created everything about the restaurant from scratch, including the logos, recipes and design.
“We built the blueprint for pretty much the whole business ourselves,” Gordon said.
Wildcat Wings offers traditional and boneless wings made from 100-percent white-meat chicken with 21 different sauces, including a dry rub for those who may not like the other flavors.
“We’ve got everything from the hottest you can get to your mild and all your tangy flavors,” Gordon said. “If you like any kind of flavor, you’ll like something here.”
The menu also features appetizer food, including sweet-potato fries, mozzarella sticks and fried pickles; nine different draft beers; and desserts including bananas Foster and brownie bites.
The environment is casual and conducive to sports fans, with five televisions showing different events. Gordon said he plans to show UFC fights, boxing and University of Kentucky sports in addition to other games.
“We want to be the new hang-out spot, really, the new laid-back local fun place to go and watch games,” Emerie said.
Wildcat Wings is open Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. For catering and other information, call the restaurant at 859-881-9464 (881-WING).
