Wyoming’s Double Dub’s Wins 3rd Straight Festival Favorite At Buffalo Wing Fest

For the third straight year, Wyoming’s Weitzels Wings has been voted Festival Favorite by the crowds of rabid chicken wing fans at the annual National Buffalo Wing Festival on Sunday evening.

The three-peat for the Laramie-based wing wagon empire, aka Double Dub’s, is a record for the 23-year-old festival, which is considered the Super Bowl of chicken wings.

“We are, like, over-the-moon-excited,” said Double Dub’s owner Trent Weitzel shortly after the Festival Favorite award was awarded. “This is crazy, because nobody’s done this before.”

Aside from the fickleness of the judges from year to year, he said his top-notch sauces help guarantee variety so people don’t get bored with the same selections every year.

“Each year we do something different, have different sauces,” Weitzel told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s 13 different sauces on the truck at any given time, but we have 30-some sauces that we do.”

Along with three-peating as Festival Favorite, Double Dub’s also won first place for Best Hot Traditional Wing Sauce this year, along with third place for Best Sriracha Sauce.

Overall, in five years of competing in Buffalo, Double Dub’s has won 18 awards and the top prize three times.

“We’ve won the wing festival more times than we haven’t won the wing festival,” Weitzel said. “And we’re already thinking about what we’re going to do next year.”

What’s The Secret?

The company’s rise to becoming recognized as making the best Buffalo wings on the planet has been nothing short of meteoric, especially over the last five years.

“It’s been amazing. Me and Dallas (Lopez, a franchisee and longtime friend), we started this in my house, like, 15-20 years ago with a Fry Daddy. Then it’s just grown into a food truck, then more food trucks. Then being on ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.’ It’s crazy how much it’s grown over the last five years.”

Now Double Dub’s has five war wagon wing trucks in Wyoming, two in Colorado and one in Wisconsin. He also takes Weitzels Wings to tailgate before Buffalo Bills games.

As his profile grows across Wyoming and beyond, so does the reputation of their wings, he said.

“This festival was a lot of fun, man,” Weitzel said. “Our booth was more busy than we’ve ever had it at any other festival. It was insanely busy.”

The real secret to his success is the near-rabid fan base for the Double Dub’s wings, known as the “Dub’s Mafia,” along with family and staff who share a passion for doing something as humble as a chicken wing better than anyone.

“I love the chicken wing, man,” he said. “I love the family that has happened with all of this.”

But the real backbone of the operation are those fans.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the people who love Double Dub’s,” Weitzel said. “The people in Wyoming are just amazing. They support what I do, and they get to have Double Dub’s wings whenever they want.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg@cowboystatedaily.com

Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.