University of Colorado football star Shedeur Sanders has stopped into Peckish for wings. So has his food-loving dad. Buffs teammates Travis Hunter and Dylan Edwards have also come by, along with CU basketball player KJ Simpson – and dozens of other college athletes.
In fact, a sponsorship by the Boulder restaurant, at 1320 College Ave., means there is a strong connection between Peckish and CU – something that owner Byron Wheeler plans to take with him when he opens a second, larger location near the Denver Tech Center this summer.
“It has been a fun year in Boulder … and great for all businesses, but especially for those” that are official partners with the school, Wheeler said, referring to the energy and excitement that football coach Deion Sanders, and his two sons, have brought to campus.
That excitement also has helped Peckish, located on The Hill, become a hot spot for students looking for a fix of hot honey garlic chicken wings or the fiery Liquid Lava wings.
But Wheeler, whose daughter is a cheerleader at CU, wants to see if the 5-year-old restaurant, which he bought two years ago from its original owners, can thrive and survive in a more traditional setting, like an office park near Hampden Avenue and Monaco Parkway.
So the new location, officially called Peckish Pizza & Wings, 4920 S. Newport St., will be bigger than the one in Boulder (and have more parking); it will also serve pizza and offer 16 taps of craft beer. And while there will be 16 TVs — including a giant screen — and room for 86 guests, Wheeler also loves the dense residential population with a half-mile radius of the restaurant’s location.
“The hot honey garlic is our number one seller, but all of our 20 different sauces are house-made, and they’re fresh, never frozen,” said Wheeler, who has owned or operated 25 different restaurants — primarily franchises of large chains — over his career.
Eventually, Wheeler thinks Peckish has the power to be expanded to other locations, but for now, he said, “We are just really excited about doing this on our own and building our own brand and intellectual property.”
