The Super Bowl is a once a year event that typically sees an increase in chicken wing prices, but this year the fan favorite snack has reached a record high.
Wholesale wings are currently at about $2.11 a pound, the highest on record at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, up to 26 cents or 14 percent from a year earlier, according to The National Chicken Council.
"Wing prices always go up in the fourth quarter of the year as restaurants stock up for the Super Bowl and prices usually peak in January during the run-up to the big game," says a National Chicken Council release
Some analysts even expect the high demand will hold steady even after the NFL season ends.
"Demand for wings is proving more and more to be inelastic," said Bill Roenigk, chief economist and market analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based poultry group. "With the rising number of restaurants with menus dedicated to wings, the return of the NHL hockey season, the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament and then the start of grilling season, wing demand should remain hot."
Well the demand has risen so high that two storage warehouse workers in the Atlanta area have stolen $65,000 worth of chicken wings.
Gwinnett County police investigators said they believe Dewayne Patterson and Renaldo Jackson used a rental truck on Jan. 12 and took 10 pallets of frozen wings from Nordic Cold Storage.
Authorities say that while the chicken wings have not been found, the men "were put on ice" and charged with felony theft. According to Gwinnett County Jail records they were released on $2,950 bond
The theft comes just a few days before Super Bowl weekend.
Ed Cooper owns the Wing Shop restaurant in Lawrenceville. He said the Super Bowl is the busiest time of year for him and he is encouraging customers to pre-order for the big game.
Cooper encourages customers that they should not worry about the shortage when purchasing from big franchises like his.
"Not at Wing Stop. We have our wings locked in for the year and that's because we are a national franchise. Smaller mom-and-pop stores have to do their homework. They have to hunt around for wings," Cooper said.
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