Buffalo, NY suffers wing shortage

Short supply is making it a little more expensive at some restaurants to sink your teeth into pizza's best friend.

Some food suppliers in the chicken wing capital, Buffalo, N.Y., say their supply of chicken wings is running low.

So far, pizza shops like one in Niagara Falls, N.Y. still have enough.

But Sam Musolino is so fed up with how much he's paying for them, he's calling on other pizza shops to boycott them on Monday, January 26th.

Sam, of Sammy's Pizzeria said, "Pass it on to everybody that if nobody could serve chicken wings for that day."

Sam says he's paying twice as much for wings at his shop in Niagara Falls.

Musolino said, "40 pounds would be like $85." He says he used to pay only half that amount.

The demand for chicken wings is higher than ever. But meeting that demand has become a problem. One reason is a poultry farm in Texas has filed for bankruptcy which has reduced the supply. The end result is higher prices.

"I have to raise my prices, and the people who can't afford it won't spend money," explained Musolino.

La Nova Pizzeria in Buffalo sells it's chicken wings to shops around the world. But even with that much business, it's still feeling the financial pain of higher prices.

Joe Todaro of La Nova Pizzeria said, "We do between 300 to 500,000 pounds of chicken wings a week, so pennies make a big difference for us. Part of the reason why it's going up so high is a supply and demand issue. Poultry suppliers aren't making as many wings as they used to."