Plenty of Baton Rouge restaurants started in a kitchen. Empire Wingz started behind a nightclub, and its newest location now sits on Bass Pro Boulevard in Denham Springs.

From club side hustle to tent to storefront

The company traces its story to 2012, when founder Vic Smith was working in club promotion and running a club called Empire. Wings were a sideline then, a way to sell more drinks. That changed when a mutual friend introduced him to Derrick Revish, a cook who was confident he could make the best wings Smith had ever tasted.

Smith tried Revish's OG Redip wings and was sold. A simple tent behind the club started drawing lines, sometimes from people who came just for the food.

The club closed at the end of 2013, and Smith went through bankruptcy. The wings went quiet with it. While he figured out what came next, he called Revish about bringing them back. In 2015, with $1,200 to his name, Smith bought a fryer.

From there, Empire Wingz popped up under its tent at clubs, barbershops and local events, posting each stop on social media. Fans lined up for blocks. In November 2016, the business opened its first brick-and-mortar location near Southern University.

Now across the river (the Amite, that is)

Today Empire Wingz runs several locations, including one at 6894 Airline Highway in Baton Rouge and another at 705 S. Burnside Ave. in Gonzales. The newest one, marked "Now Open!" on the company's site, is at 120 Bass Pro Blvd., Suite E, in Denham Springs.

The Denham Springs shop is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to midnight Thursday through Saturday, which makes it an easy late-night stop for Livingston Parish.

Why it's worth the drive

Empire Wingz bills itself as a spot for wings, fries and late-night food, and that focus hasn't changed since the tent days. Grab an order, and remember it all got rolling with one fryer and $1,200.

Photo courtesy of Empire Wingz.