Show Me the Ozarks August 2022

By Gary Stubblefield Photos by Mandy Edmonson Hackett

Hot Wings & Sports Room N ineteen years ago, a restaurant was born based on two unwavering tenets: faith and love. Nineteen years later, those two principles, plus a lot of prayer and a focus on exceptional food, have made Hackett Hot Wings and Sports Room the area’s number one destination for incredible chicken wings and more. Owners Floyd and Jacqueline Hackett have an incredible story to tell. It all started with love, as all truly good stories do. Floyd and Jacqueline traveled from Memphis to attend a family reunion, and the reunion was held at his Uncle Prentise’s building, which was located on Langston Hughes/Broadway in East Town. During the event, Floyd asked his uncle if they had any hot wings restaurants in the area, and his Aunt Cookie replied, “What’s a hot wing?” The idea for bringing wings to Joplin was born. Back in Memphis, the two gave considerable prayer to what God put on their hearts. Jacqueline discussed the idea with her father, and he gave her his blessing, but only if the two accomplished one important thing first, marriage. So, in 2003, in the course of three months, the couple got married, moved to Joplin and started their restaurant. Up to that point, the largest group they had ever cooked for was their wedding. That was all about to change. The restaurant was an immediate success. Word spread quickly, and people lined up for Floyd’s hot wings. The honeymoon was over; it was time to work. Hackett sells a lot of wings. On Superbowl Sunday alone, Hackett will serve over 10,000 wings. Hackett wings include wet wings, dry wings and boneless wings, all available with a variety of sauces. Seventeen signature flavors, plus a variety of sauces, offer patrons something to please anyone’s palate. It’s hard to estimate how many wings they have sold in the past 19 years, but it is easily in the hundreds of thousands. The number would probably be less if chickens could fly or if Jacqueline wasn’t such a fast runner. Hackett is much more than the wings, of course. Hackett offers 12 appetizers, ranging from fried pickles, beef or pulled pork nachos, and one of my favorites, fried green beans. On this trip, Mandy and I tried the fried cauliflower wings with buffalo sauce as an appetizer. We also had the TC wings (named for football great Trystan Colon-Castillo). They also sell a special wing named after another football legend, Brandon Williams. The Hackett menu also includes a variety of salads, entrees and great desserts.

Hackett has a large banquet room for events, plus a full-service bar in their adjoining sports room. There are three ways to get your Hackett fix: dine-in, carryout and Door Dash. Loyal customers, like Charity Matheny and her son, Triston, rave about the food, the service and the family-owned aspects of Hackett. Jacqueline Hackett says, “We are here because of prayer, faith in God and the support of our community.” I would also add a whole lot of love and slow chickens.

>>Hackett Hot Wings is located at 520 S. Main, Joplin, MO • 417.625.1333 • Facebook @hacketthotwings • www.hacketthotwings.com Open: Tuesday-Thursday, 11 am-9 pm, Friday-Sunday, 11 am-10 pm. Closed Mondays

August 2022 • www.showmetheozarks.com • 27