Strawberry sauce on your wings? New Columbus restaurant puts a twist on the classics
As a child, Branddon Mays’ fondest memories involve watching his mother, Yvonne Mays, cook in the kitchen. At first, he’d occasionally help her. Over time, he’d become a little bit more involved.
His mother made delicious chicken wings, and watching her sparked his passion for cooking.
“As I got older, I said, ‘Well, I think I’ll give this selling wings thing a try,’” Mays said Tuesday inside B’AMazing Wings, his new restaurant at 5727 Moon Road.
Mays started cooking wings out of his home. He eventually moved up to a food truck, then to a concession tent and back to his home.
Now, he’s bringing the family recipe to customers in Columbus.
“I didn’t know the demand of wings until I got into it,” Mays said. “People just go crazy about wings. They love it. It’s amazing to know the love that people have for wings. That gives me joy, to know I’m able to offer something to people that they love, and I’m able to make that passion and love for it greater by the taste that we offer.”
More than just a wing shop
Customers walk past pictures of, among other notable individuals, John Lewis, when they enter the restaurant. Its name, B’AMazing Wings, is a play on the owner’s name — Branddon’s Amazing Wings.
Pennants from various HBCU colleges and SEC schools decorate the walls near the restaurant’s front desk.
A massive mural is painted on the wall overlooking B’AMazing Wings’ dining room. Included on it are portraits of Kobe Bryant, Barack Obama, Ma Rainey, Nipsey Hussle — and Yvonne Mays, who died in 2005, in the center.
“I learned just about everything I know from her as a child,” Mays said. “ If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today. I wouldn’t have the passion to even want to open a restaurant. . . . Every day I come in, she’s watching me.”
Yvonne, according to her son’s account, always invited Branddon into the kitchen to watch her cook. She was “one of the greatest cooks you would ever meet,” he said, whether she was making chicken wings or macaroni and cheese.
As Branddon grew older, he started cooking his own dishes. Now, he cooks every item of food for her.
“Because of her, I know what I know today,” Mays said.
Mays wanted to create a one-of-a-kind experience at B’AMazing Wings, and the mural is just one aspect of that.
Secret recipes and one-of-a-kind flavors
The restaurant offers 12 wing flavors from mild to honey barbecue, in addition to other menu items such as chicken tenders and Philly cheese steaks.
There’s even a strawberry wing flavor. Yes, strawberry.
“I want to be able to offer a variety of flavors, that are out of the box, to people where they can’t get that taste anywhere else but here,” Mays said.
Mays makes all of the wing sauces himself with recipes he perfected himself over the years. The base of his original sauce, called “Addiction sauce” on the menu, comes directly from his mother. That’s the flavor he started with four years ago.
“I took that, and I added my touch to it,” Mays said. “That first sauce, I learned because I watched her make it in the kitchen as a child.”
Addiction, a mild-flavored sauce, is his top seller. Once people try it, Mays says, they’re addicted to it.
As for how he created a strawberry flavored wing sauce?
“If I told you the recipe, I’d have to hide you somewhere,” he joked.
When can I visit?
B’AMazing Wings operates 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
