Wings & Things prepares to open doors

Wings & Things Sports Bar and Grill will host its grand opening Friday night on the square in downtown Commerce.

The establishment will offer a large variety of food menu items, as well as adult beverages and entertainment. College students will be the primary market, according to owner Mike Crain.

"One of the things we want, whether it be about the food, atmosphere or really anything, is input from the college students, because that is our target customer," he said.

Crain said Wings & Things will be an economical alternative to other restaurants in town.

"Other than the large quantity orders of wings, I don't have anything on the menu over $6.99," he said. "We will have large quantity, better quality and your dollar will get you a lot farther here than other places."

The menu will feature wings with distinctive flavor profiles, according to Crain.

"We will have wings with and without bones, and a lot of custom sauces that are unique in our own style," he said. "One that I think will be popular is called pineapple punch. It's a little spicy but it's pineapple habanero. It's got a really nice sweet flavor then it has a little after bite, not too heavy, but it's nice."

Crain said the restaurant will also offer "Texas size taters" (oversized baked potatoes) and have a topping bar that will offer hot toppings like chili and melted cheese, as well as "pretty much everything else you can put on a baked potato."

Custom soups including shrimp sausage gumbo, chicken noodle and potato will also be served.

"This is the best gumbo I have ever had, and my dive partner in the Navy was Cajun, so I know gumbo," he said. "The chicken noodle soup isn't the one your grandma used to make either; this soup will be like eating a chicken pot pie. Without sounding arrogant, it's the best I have ever had."

After 9:00 p.m., Wings & Things will transition from a low-key, family friendly restaurant into an upbeat, sporty hangout for patrons 18 years and older.

"At that point, we become a sports bar," Crain said. "Initially, we will open up with just bottled beer and wine, but I am working on the equipment needed to have a large assortment of draft beers too."

According to Crain, alcohol sales will cease at the standard time, but the kitchen will remain open until 2:00 a.m. Wednesdays - Saturdays. Various entertainment events will be scheduled on a weekly basis.

"On Friday and Saturday nights, we will have live music," he said. "Tuesday nights we are going to host karaoke, and we also will have the Sunday Ticket for football fans to come in and catch all their favorite teams."

Wings & Things will offer accommodations for relaxation.

"We will have a smoking/hookah lounge with its own big screen TV," Crain said. "Initially, it's going to be bring your own tobacco, but I plan on selling it here eventually. I have a couple of nice hookahs ready for the grand opening."

Crain said he is he seeking to create an all-around enjoyable experience for customers, especially college students.

"We are trying to have a bright, clean, fun atmosphere with smoking-hot waitresses," he said. "As a sports bar, I plan on showing the UFC fights and the other big sports like football and baseball, but I also want to be more involved with the students. I plan on having theme parties and we are diligently working on putting an arcade together."

Crain plans to start off business with crowd-engaging contests.

"At the grand opening Friday, we are having a best costume contest with cash prizes," he said. "Saturday, we are having the sexiest costume contest to start off with."

Students are getting excited about the new addition on the square.

"I'm happy that the square is getting another bar," A&M-Commerce junior Brad Deshotel said. "It sounds like Wings & Things will be a fresh bar, catering to what the students crave – parties."

Crain said he wants to take the town square back to the days when it was full of thriving bars and happy students.

"It seems to me that all the bars down here have their own cliques," he said, "so I want to have a place that everyone feels welcome in. From the students and faculty, to the town residents, I want this bar to be for everyone."