New Wingstop Opens Near Campus
Students enjoying the new Wingstop that has opened up across the street from campus. Photo by Tyler Catalano '28
As the school year begins, Marist College students are thrilled to have the addition of a new Wingstop to the area. The chain has over 2,000 restaurants worldwide, with 65 restaurants in New York State. The restaurant chain has gained a cult Gen-Z following, after trending on TikTok.
“I’m very excited. Ecstatic even,” said Brady Connors ‘28. Connors shares the same excitement that many other Marist students have over the opening of the new restaurant.
“I definitely plan on trying it,” said Emma Cook ‘28.
Wingstop adds more variation to students' diets and also offers a place to go if they want a change from campus dining options.
Wingstop offers 14 different flavors and the option to go bone-in, boneless or tenders. Just like the choices, students’ orders greatly vary. “My go-to order is a three piece crispy tender combo,” said Nicole Scala ‘28.
“My go-to is three boneless garlic parm, three Louisiana rub, fries and a Diet Coke,” said Lara Kelly ‘28.
Recently, Wingstop has gained extreme popularity after being featured in ever-so-popular “mukbang” content on social media. As a recent CNN article reported, “By mid-August, there were over four million videos on TikTok with the mukbang hashtag.” The mukbang videos have led to people craving it.
“Yes, the mukbangs make me crave it,” said Kelly.
The students don’t just crave the wings, but also the condiments — more specifically, the ranch. Some fans describe the condiment as “...ranch is so good, they’d bathe in it.” Last year on National Ranch Day, Wingstop collaborated with Buff City Soap to sell ranch-scented bars of soap.
The new location offers attentive customer service and is extremely clean. “It was clean, and the wait was good, considering the amount of people ordering,” said Connors, who went on a Saturday, a busy time for the restaurant.
The location’s hours are also optimal for college students, especially during late-night cram sessions. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. seven days a week and located just across Route 9.
And it’s not just college students enjoying the restaurant. Students have seen multiple families and other members of the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. community at Wingstop.
Although the restaurant has only been open for a brief amount of time, it is finding great success amongst the Marist student body.