Wing chain permanently closes Toronto location after nearly 20 years

A local staple for Buffalo chicken wings is closing the doors of one of its longtime locations after nearly two decades in business.

Duff’s Famous Wings, formerly located at 558 College St., announced via Instagram on Monday that it has permanently shuttered its Little Italy location after 19 years in business.

“After 19 years on College Street, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close this location,” the statement reads. “The restaurant has been a huge part of our lives, and we are sincerely grateful to our amazing staff, our loyal customers and the community that supported us over the years.”

The storefront on College Street first opened up back in March of 2007 and quickly became a reliable stop for crispy wings tossed in a range of flavour options, including authentic Buffalo sauce (with your choice of heat level), honey garlic, BBQ, and lemon pepper.

Although the chain’s College Street outpost is closing, Duff’s won’t disappear entirely from the GTA. Two other locations will remain open: one at 1604 Bayview Ave. in Toronto, and the other at 9360 Bathurst Street, Unit 1 in Vaughan.

The Bayview Avenue location continues to hold a special place in the company’s history, as it marked the first location of the chain that opened north of the border in September 1998. Over a decade later, Duff’s Vaughan location followed in September 2010.

The brand traces its roots all the way back to 1946, when Louise Duffey opened a corner Gin Mill in Amherst, New York. Two decades later, the tavern, which was known as “Duff’s,” served up its first batch of chicken wings, and soon after, reportedly began selling nearly 20 pounds of wings per week.

With a steady stream of Canadian tourists making the trip down to Amherst just for the wings, the tavern was approached by twin brothers, Hy and Rob Erlich, who brought the restaurant’s classic recipes to Toronto.

blogTO has reached out to Duff’s to confirm the reasoning behind the closure of its College Street location, but has not heard back at the time of this article’s publication.