ABOUT

It all started with a meeting of the minds and beards when in 2011 Dain Phelan and Mark Dundas met - an event that would lead to a change in the food options for Durhamites forever.  They bonded quickly over a love of beer, chicken wings, and hairy faces and so began the long process towards the birth of Heavenly Buffaloes.

Roping in their brilliant wives, the Phelan-Dundas foursome began a series of long meetings, research, and development in order to finalize the concept. A major component was finding and using high-quality ingredients as the protein base, and the creation of a wide variety of sauces developed in-house that would be unique to HB. After nearly a full year of arduous taste-testing (they ate A LOT of chicken wings), their sauce recipes were ready and proved to be delicious on both the chicken and vegan wing options.  Join that with the use of local, farm-raised, steroid and antibiotic-free chicken wings, locally produced vegan soy nuggets, and a shack that would impart a chilled-out, beachy vibe, HB was set to launch.

Heavenly Buffaloes opened on September 1, 2014, and was quickly embraced by Durham locals, Duke students, and friends from elsewhere in the Triangle.  Open late-night on the weekends, available for lunch on weekdays, and delivering wings, waffle fries, and beer to a select area in the vicinity, Heavenly Buffaloes offers a variety of ways to enjoy the food.  

In April 2018, Heavenly Buffaloes opened a location in the heart of Chapel Hill on Franklin Street. A second location in Durham, with dine-in areas and outdoor seating, opened at the shops at Erwin Terrace across from Duke’s West Campus in January of 2021.

Heavenly Buffaloes is the recipient of the Indy Week's Best of the Triangle Award for Best Wings in Durham County consecutively from 2015-2023, and the winners of the Best Wings in Orange/Chatham County in 2020, 2021, and 2022.