One of my favorite stories I’ve ever written for the Scene was “Tiger Tales,” which covered the little-known facts about how important Tennessee State University graduates have been, and continue to be, for the local food and beverage industry. So I was excited when I met four newer TSU grads who have, by sheer force of will, built up a burgeoning empire with their business, Official Wings.
Edward Horton, Ken Partee, Keith Morgan and Nichalos Moton are all from Memphis and attended TSU at different times between 2007 and 2013. An important part of their time on Jefferson Street included trips to buy wings at spots like Nuttin’ but Wings and Knock Out Wings, but they missed “Memphis-style” wings.
For the uninformed, Memphis-style means the full, intact wing (flat, drummette and tip) is served unbreaded and fried. Dry spice or wet sauce can be used individually or in combination, and hot lemon pepper and honey gold are much more popular flavors than traditional Buffalo Frank’s sauce.
Official Wings founders, from left: Keith Morgan, Nichalos Moton, Edward Horton, Ken Partee
After college, Horton and Partee started a few businesses following corporate gigs at Walmart and Sam’s Club. The young entrepreneurs made a living renting a bounce house and an inflatable waterslide, but Memphis wings kept haunting them. In early 2020, pre-COVID, they started up Official Wings in an old funnel cake truck. The name came from the pride they had in their product and played up a sports theme by using referee shirts as employee uniforms.
They’re proud that their wings are never frozen and that all 25 dry and wet flavors are made in-house. In addition to their original location at 2035 Jefferson St., about 30 seconds off the I-40 exit, they have opened two additional restaurants in Clarksville. The Nashville restaurant is actually a permanently parked truck with a comfortable courtyard behind a wood-cut warehouse decorated with picnic tables and a small outdoor stage.
Two other food trucks also park there so that Official Wings can spread their business all over town or cater parties and other events. You can track their locations on the Best Food Trucks site to see if they’re coming anywhere near you. But really, my visit to meet Edward Horton led me to think that dining in, or actually out, at the courtyard location is the power move.
First off, the wings are fantastic! The full wing option is a dealmaker, and the hardest part is choosing your flavor. Everything is cooked fresh to order, so you’ve got time to consider your options before they emerge hot from the fryer. Additionally, the trucks and the restaurants are fitted with multiple fryers dedicated to wings, fish and vegetarian cooking to avoid cross-contamination and fish-flavored wings.
Originally just a Friday option, catfish is on the menu every day now, and you can dress your fish with any of the same rubs and sauces as the wing menu. The vegetarian/vegan option is fried cauliflower, and Horton tells me that some customers try it once out of curiosity instead of their regular wing order and never go back to chicken!
Boneless wings are also available, although I join this man in personally rejecting their existence.
Side dishes include fries, Cajun fries, fried pickles, onion rings and fried okra. If you don’t normally think of getting wings for lunch, Official Wings has become a popular midday meal option thanks to a lunch special of four wings, fries and a canned soft drink for $12. Keep in mind that four wings at Official is more like eight wings anywhere else.
The multiple options for dry and wet seasonings mean there are plenty of reasons to travel to any of the Official Wings locations for a good hang!
