The original Buffalo Wild Wings didn’t even have a fryer. Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery opened their first location because they couldn’t find decent wings in Ohio, and they launched the thing with equipment so basic it would make a food truck owner wince. That scrappy origin story sits underneath a brand that now spans over a thousand locations and has become, for a lot of Americans, the default place to watch a game you don’t care enough about to buy tickets for but care too much about to watch alone.
I’ve run buffalo wild wings trivia at actual BWW locations, and the thing that always surprises me is where the confidence sits. People who go every week think they know the menu cold. They don’t. They think they know the sauce lineup. They’re close. They’re absolutely sure they know when their local one opened. They’re never right. That gap between feeling like a regular and actually knowing the details is where the best questions live.
These 40 questions are built for that gap. Some you’ll nail. Some will start a fight about sauce rankings that outlasts the appetizer. A few will genuinely change how you think about the place next time you walk in.
1. In what city was the very first Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant opened?
Everyone’s instinct goes straight to Buffalo, New York. It’s right there in the name. But the founders were living in a completely different state, craving the wings they couldn’t find locally. That misdirection is baked into the brand’s DNA.
2. What year did the first Buffalo Wild Wings open its doors?
People tend to guess later than reality. Something about the sports-bar-chain aesthetic feels very mid-’90s. It’s older than that.
3. What was the original name of the restaurant before it became Buffalo Wild Wings?
This is one where regulars look at each other and realize nobody’s ever actually checked. The original name was longer, clunkier, and honestly kind of charming.
4. Who were the two co-founders of Buffalo Wild Wings?
I’ve asked this at live events and watched tables of people who eat there twice a month draw complete blanks. Nobody knows the founders of their favorite chain restaurant. It’s humbling.
5. What major restaurant company acquired Buffalo Wild Wings in 2018?
This one separates people who follow food industry news from people who just follow the sauce. The acquiring company also owns Arby’s, which always gets a reaction.
6. How many signature sauce and dry rub options does Buffalo Wild Wings currently offer on its menu (approximately)?
People who think they’ve tried them all usually haven’t even tried half. The number is higher than most guess, and it changes periodically with limited-time offerings.
7. What is the name of Buffalo Wild Wings’ hottest sauce on its permanent menu?
I’ve watched grown adults argue about this with the kind of passion usually reserved for sports. People who’ve actually tried it tend to remember the name. People who haven’t tend to guess something more dramatic than the real thing.
8. In the Blazin’ Challenge, how many Blazin’ wings must a participant eat, and in how many minutes?
The wing count is what people get wrong. They always guess higher. The time limit is what actually makes it brutal.
9. Which BWW sauce shares its name with a region in Asia known for its chili peppers?
This one plays well because it rewards people who actually read the sauce names on the menu instead of just pointing at the same three every time.
10. What is the mildest sauce on the Buffalo Wild Wings heat scale?
The mild end of the menu gets no respect. But someone at every table orders it, and they always look a little defensive about it.
11. Buffalo Wild Wings offers both traditional wings and what boneless alternative?
This is a layup, but I include it because it always triggers the single most reliable argument in any BWW-related trivia round: whether boneless wings are actually wings.
12. What garlic-forward sauce sits in the medium heat range at BWW and has a cult following among regulars?
If someone at the table lights up when they hear this question, they’re the one who always orders it and tries to convert everyone else.
13. Approximately how many TV screens does a typical Buffalo Wild Wings location have?
People always lowball this. They think of their usual seat and the screens they can see from it. They forget about the ones behind them, in the bar area, near the bathrooms, basically everywhere.
14. What tagline did Buffalo Wild Wings use for years that referenced wings, beer, and sports?
You’ve heard it. You’ve probably said it without thinking. But recalling it word-for-word under pressure is trickier than it sounds.
15. Buffalo Wild Wings became the official what of the NCAA’s March Madness tournament?
BWW and March Madness feel so linked that people forget there’s an actual sponsorship category behind it. The specific title matters here.
16. What is the name of BWW’s loyalty rewards program?
Half the table has the app on their phone. The other half has never heard of it. There’s no middle ground.
17. What day of the week has traditionally been associated with Buffalo Wild Wings’ wing specials?
This is the one where someone at the table goes, “Wait, did they stop doing that?” And then everyone checks their phones.
18. In the early 2010s, BWW ran a famous ad campaign where employees used outlandish methods to extend overtime in games. What was the premise?
These commercials were genuinely funny and ran during actual games, which made them feel like part of the broadcast. People remember the vibe but struggle with the specifics.
19. As of recent counts, approximately how many Buffalo Wild Wings locations exist in the United States?
The number is big enough to surprise people who think of it as a regional thing, and small enough to surprise people who assume it’s as ubiquitous as McDonald’s.
20. Does Buffalo Wild Wings have locations outside the United States?
A yes-or-no that’s trickier than it looks. Most people assume it’s strictly American.
21. What U.S. state has the most Buffalo Wild Wings locations?
People guess their home state. It’s almost never their home state. The answer tracks with population, but not perfectly.
22. Buffalo Wild Wings’ stock ticker symbol, before it was taken private, was what three-letter abbreviation?
This is a niche one. Finance people love it. Everyone else has a fifty-fifty shot at guessing something reasonable.
23. What was the approximate acquisition price when Inspire Brands purchased Buffalo Wild Wings?
People who got the previous question right usually nail this one too. Everyone else is just throwing darts.
24. Besides wings, what fried appetizer has been one of BWW’s most enduringly popular menu items?
There are a few right-sounding answers here. The one I’m looking for is the one that’s been on the menu the longest and shows up on almost every table.
25. What type of cauliflower-based menu item did BWW introduce to appeal to non-meat eaters?
This one always gets a reaction. Half the room didn’t know it existed. The other half has strong opinions about whether it belongs on the menu at all.
26. BWW’s menu includes burgers. What’s the name of their signature smashed-style burger lineup?
Most people don’t go to BWW for burgers, which means most people have never read that section of the menu carefully. This separates the people who actually explore from the ones who autopilot to the wings page.
27. What beer brand has historically been one of BWW’s most prominently featured draft options?
There’s no single contractual answer here, but one brand has been so visually present in BWW locations for so long that it’s practically part of the decor.
28. What dessert item, often served in a shareable format, became a fan-favorite menu closer at BWW?
People who’ve had it remember it. People who haven’t are missing out on the best argument for staying after the game ends.
29. Buffalo Wild Wings once tested a concept where customers could control what game was shown on specific TVs. What was this system called?
This is one of those ideas that sounds like it should have worked perfectly and also sounds like a recipe for absolute chaos.
30. What gaming element did BWW add to many locations, allowing customers to play while waiting for food?
If you’ve been to a BWW in the last several years, you’ve probably seen these on the tables and either ignored them completely or lost 30 minutes to them.
31. BWW’s parent company, Inspire Brands, also owns which sandwich chain known for its roast beef?
This is the question that makes people say “wait, really?” every single time. The two brands feel like they exist in completely different universes.
32. In what state was Buffalo Wild Wings headquartered before moving its corporate offices?
People guess Ohio because of the founding story. The headquarters actually moved around as the company grew.
33. What is the name of the buffalo mascot character that BWW has used in various marketing campaigns?
Some people have seen this character a hundred times and never thought to learn its name. Which is fair. But now it’s costing them a point.
34. What does the abbreviation “B-Dubs” stand for, and how did it originate?
Everyone uses it. Almost nobody has thought about where it came from. It’s one of those nicknames that feels like it’s always existed.
35. What sport’s championship game historically drives the single highest sales day for Buffalo Wild Wings?
You already know this one. But say it out loud and watch someone at the table argue for March Madness.
36. BWW introduced a “GO” concept for certain locations. What makes a BWW GO different from a standard location?
This is a company strategy question disguised as a trivia question. It rewards people who’ve noticed the smaller storefronts popping up.
37. In terms of Scoville heat units, BWW’s Blazin’ sauce is roughly comparable to what well-known hot pepper?
Heat scale questions are fun because everyone thinks they understand Scoville units until they have to actually place something on the scale.
38. What was the name of the BWW-sponsored college football bowl game?
Bowl game sponsorships are one of those things that sound made up even when they’re real. A wing restaurant sponsoring a bowl game is peak America.
39. What is the name of the in-restaurant trivia platform that many BWW locations use for live trivia nights?
If you’re reading buffalo wild wings trivia questions right now, there’s a decent chance you’ve played on this system and just never registered the brand name behind it.
40. Co-founder Jim Disbrow has said that the original Buffalo Wild Wings recipe was inspired by a specific craving he had after moving to Columbus. What was he specifically missing from back East that led him to start making his own?
This is where the whole story circles back. Two guys in Ohio in 1982, homesick for a food that hadn’t made it to the Midwest yet. They didn’t set out to build a billion-dollar chain. They just wanted good wings. The fact that you’re sitting here, maybe in a BWW right now, answering questions about the place they accidentally built, that’s the kind of detail that makes a last question land. Not because it’s the hardest. Because it’s the most human.
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