Super Bowl Sunday is just days away. The TVs will be on and the gameday tables will be loaded with food.
One of the most popular items on the menu? Chicken wings.
The National Chicken Council predicts Americans will consume 1.47 billion wings on Sunday. A popular Chicago wing spot on the West Side is preparing for the rush.
"The Super Bowl is my Super Bowl," said Charmaine Rickette, owner of Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken. "It's our busiest day of the year."
Over a five-hour span Sunday, Uncle Remus' three locations are prepared to dish-out 9,000 wings. Rickette's team was busy prepping Friday.
"Sourcing the wings, making sure they are the proper size, making sure that they have the supplies to meet the demand," she said.
The business was passed down by her parents Gus and Mary, who opened the first shop in Chicago in the 60s.
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"My parents migrated here from the south, Mississippi, and came to Chicago to get a better life," Rickette said. "Didn’t know what he was doing but 70 years later we’re still here, figuring it out.”
Three locations and a food truck later, their business is thriving. Gus will be 99 years old this year.
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She says their secret to success was resilience, community and a special, secret sauce.
"That crunch that you can just hear, you can taste, you can just ingratiate yourself, and to top it off it’s all about the sauce here," she said.
While we don't know what's in the sweet-yet-tangy sauce, and we don't know who will win Sunday's big game, Rickette does know local businesses thrive off days like the Super Bowl.
"It's great that people when they think of chicken think of the small businesses," Rickette said. “I’m grateful for the journey my parents took to get here and the resilience for sticking it out."
Uncle Remus will offer a Chiefs and Eagles meal special on Sunday.
