Original Wild Wing Cafe, located on Hilton Head’s south end, is closing permanently
The original Wild Wing Cafe, located on Hilton Head Island, is closing.
The announcement was posted Wednesday morning on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
“Wingers OLD and NEW today we have made the decision to close permanently,” the post reads. “This was not a choice that we ever thought we would have to make. We have enjoyed over 30 years of being at the beach. We will miss seeing many friendly faces year over year as you came to beach for HOT WINGS COLD BEER and GOOD TIMES.”
The post closes with, “Stay Wild!”
The restaurant, now located at 72 Pope Ave. near Coligny Beach but originally at Coligny Plaza, was the first Wild Wing Cafe. The business was started in 1990 by Cecil and Dianne Crowley. They opened a second location in Charleston in 1992 and began to franchise their restaurant in 1996.
In 2012, Axum Capital Partners purchased the company.
On the event of the restaurant’s 25th anniversary, Dianne Crowley recalled their first day in business.
The restaurant almost immediately ran out of food and had just six salad bowls on hand for the 285 people who showed up for lunch. “We ran out of every bit of food we had,” she told The Island Packet in 2015. “We sent two trucks to Sam’s Club in Savannah and bought everything we needed. We were just overwhelmed that first night, but the people were so nice.”
The chain, now based in Charlotte, includes more than 40 other restaurants, including in Bluffton and Pooler. There was no indication other locations would be closing.
Messages left at the company’s corporate number were not immediately returned.
