Who will be crowned the chicken wing king of Northeast Pennsylvania?
The people behind the NEPA Chicken Wing Bulletin blog have organized an online contest to let the public vote in a bracket format like the March Madness college basketball tournament.
This year, Lackawanna County is getting its own side of the bracket and that winner will face off against the winner of the Wyoming Valley side to determine who wins the “King of the Wings” championship belt.
Voting gets underway on the group’s Facebook page on Sunday, starting with the Lackawanna County bracket. Each round lasts two days.
Last year’s champion Finn’s Cafe 99 in Wilkes-Barre experienced an immediate surge in business after winning the inaugural contest, said owner Jimmy Finn.
NEPA Chicken Wing Bulletin and its 25,500 followers are serious about their wings.
“I was shocked and excited we won, but I didn’t realize how it was going to change our lives. It literally changed our lives, I had to add staff. I went from one cook to now two or three, one bartender to two bartenders,” Finn said.
Jimmy Finn, owner of Finn’s Cafe 99 in Wilkes-Barre, shows of last year award for winning inaugural Chicken Wing Madness voting contest organized by the NEPA Chicken Wing Bulletin. (Courtesy of Finn’s Cafe 99)
Finn’s Cafe 99 squares off against the Big House in the first round of the Wyoming Valley bracket.
Matty Centak of Hanover Twp., an administrator for the NEPA Chicken Wing Bulletin who helped compile the bracket, said he knows there are many worthy wing joints that didn’t make the contest. He’s been to many of them and has given them rave reviews.
“It was viral last year. I had people from Lackawanna County say they wanted to be involved, so we added a Lackawanna County bracket,” said Centak said. “After we did this year last people were contacting me saying their business was up, it doubles.”
NEPA Chicken Wing Bulletin launched nearly seven years ago and administrators of the page organized the popular Swoyersville Chick Wing Fling that is held every summer. Followers of the page often give recommendations and reviews on the site.
A total of 64 businesses are in the Wing Madness 2026 competition, 32 in each bracket.
“It’s a bragging rights thing for sure,” Centak said. “At the end, it will be the Wyoming Valley vs. Lackawanna County for the ‘King of the Wings.’ You know those old WWF belts? We are getting one of those made up for the champion,” Centak said.
Participating bars & restuarants
Wyoming Valley bracket: Kate’s Place, Checkerboard, Hops and Barleys, Pizza Perfect, Murphy’s, T.C. Rileys, Carey’s Pub, Rich and Charlotte’s, Bourbon City, Pizza L’Oven, Uncle Buck’s BBQ, Tommy’s, Press Box, Rec Room, Bud’s, Lighthouse, Whiskey Business, Frog Pond, Beer Boys, 6 Strings, Elmer Sudds, Mountain Top Pub, Town Tavern, Newtown Cafe, R Bar and Grill, Chacko’s, Plains Pub, Quality Times, Finn’s Cafe 99, Big House, Yosemite’s, Larry’s
Lackawanna County bracket: Kelly’s Pub, Minooka Pub, Penalty Box, Roosey Bar, 1905 Tavern, The Patch, Dugout, Rusty Nail, Donkey, Benny’s, Poor Richards, Joyce’, Haggerty’s, Bigsy’s, Zalenski’s, Kuzzin’s, Diskin’s, Barletta’s, Thirsty Elephant, McGrath’s, Waldo’s, McGinty’s, Happy Valley, Backyard Ale, Peanut Bar, Cabin, Pepper, Jaks, Mickey Gannon’s, Dee Jays, V Spot, Glass Onion