The wait for a Buffalo Wild Wings is finally over, folks.

After attempts to open in State College fell through in 2017, the sports bar and restaurant officially opened its doors on March 25 at the Maxxen at 134 S. Garner St.

Buffalo Wild Wings features a menu with 26 sauces and rubs for its wings, as well as burgers, chicken sandwiches, wraps, and more. It also features around 30 beers on tap, so our staffers headed downtown to give State College’s new sports bar a try.

Fernando Martinez Ruiz De Esparza: Six Traditional Wings & A Triple Bacon Cheeseburger

I know it’s a lot of food, but I hadn’t eaten since the morning, so I was really hungry at the time. I hadn’t been to Buffalo Wild Wings in such a long time because there’s not one near where I live, so I was excited to go back.

The design of the restaurant was incredible, with a number of televisions and Penn State decorations. I had to wait an hour to get a table with my friends since it was still very crowded, which I completely understand. However, the presentation was disappointing.

It took almost an hour for my food to come out, and when it did, my wings were kind of cold, and it was supposed to come with a side that never came out. The wings weren’t that bad, but I feel that they would have been better if they came out hot. As for the burger, it was OK, along with the fries, but it was not worth the price. The burger with the wings cost me about $28, so the prices are my biggest complaint. The service was slow, which I understand since it just opened, but our waitress barely showed up and took a long time to get my friends and me our drinks.

Overall, I do plan to go back due to the awesome ambiance of watching sports there, but improvements like the service need to be made.

Michael Zeno: 10-Piece Boneless Wings (Barbecue/Medium) & Fries

I’ve actually never had Buffalo Wild Wings before, as there just weren’t many around me in South Jersey growing up. The only one within 45 minutes opened two years ago.

It’s still pretty crowded since it just opened, so I ordered takeout and brought it back to the commons. The presentation isn’t great but whatever.

The barbecue wings were pretty good. I love the dining hall boneless wings, and these were a bit better than those. The barbecue sauce was solid and just the right amount of sweet. The medium/mild wings weren’t as good but not bad at all.

The fries weren’t that good. A lot of places are really hit-and-miss with their fries, and they were just bland. Meh.

Ultimately, I’ve had better, but I was pleasantly surprised after hearing bad things from some people who’ve had it. My biggest complaint is honestly the price. That was $16.60. Really?

Mikey DeAngelis: 20 Boneless Wings

I don’t like to leave negative reviews, but my experience at Buffalo Wild Wings was pretty bad, and I don’t feel as mean criticizing a national corporation rather than a local business. I’d like to also preface this review by saying I love Buffalo Wild Wings, and I frequent my location at home. As for this experience, I had to wait almost two hours to be seated, but that’s expected because it’s brand new and very popular. Understandable. I got 20 boneless wings (I went on a BOGO promotion day) and a side of cheese curds. Unfortunately, my food took almost an hour and was wrong when I finally got it. In fact, I had to ask where my food was, and the waitress brought it immediately and admitted (for whatever reason) that it had been “sitting there” for a while. I’m not sure why she admitted that, but that doesn’t reflect well on the business. 

This was also on Opening Day for the MLB, and despite having over 20 TVs in this bar, the Phillies game was not on a single one. Almost every other bar in town, let alone a sports bar, would have the Phillies on. The food was solid, as expected, although a bit cold and incorrect. I didn’t have time to ask for a replacement because I was rushing to a show. The entire experience from when I walked in until I left was almost 3.5 hours, and the food was obnoxiously expensive. It’ll be a great spot for people under 21 to watch sports since they’re sticking to a primarily restaurant-oriented approach, but other than that, I don’t know why I’d come back. You know what this place has to offer, and it serves its purpose, but I’d rather support a small locally owned bar with my money.

Despite all my negative comments, I ended up back at Buffalo Wild Wings one week later since my roommate wanted to go. I have to say, I had a much better experience. I went at 3 p.m. on a Thursday, so not a busy time, but every aspect of my experience was better. Maybe this place just needed some time to figure itself out. Time will tell.

Noah Flenard: 10 Traditional Wings & Triple Bacon Cheeseburger

The wait for a table was just under an hour. After ordering our food, it took over an hour for the table to receive their meals, which was really upsetting. I decided to try the triple bacon burger. The burger also was not worth the over one-hour wait and was warm at best by the time it hit the table. While the burger was decent, I can’t imagine how good it would have been if it had been hot. The fries were the best part of the meal. They were thin and crispy, which is my favorite. The burger was more expensive than a Five Guys burger, yet was half the quality, which was quite disappointing.

My roommate got 10 traditional wings with half garlic Parmesan and half honey barbecue, with which I wasn’t overly impressed after trying one of each. In fact, they were pretty middle-of-the-barrel, not terrible, but definitely not worth the hype at all. They also weren’t very hot either coming out, and no carrots or celery accompanied it, which the waitress had asked if I wanted them in the first place. He said the wings were pricey: $20 in total with a tip for 10 traditional wings with no extra for the drink since he got water.

Overall, I would give my Buffalo Wild Wings experience a 5/10. If you want to pay for the atmosphere and aren’t on a time constraint, Buffalo Wild Wings will do the trick! While the location being new could be a factor for the dysfunction, I am hopeful that the location will figure out its efficiency issues.

James Russell: 10 Traditional Wings

I will say the atmosphere of the Happy Valley Buffalo Wild Wings was done well. The walls were draped with Penn State sports memorabilia and numerous TVs. I have been to different Buffalo Wild Wings locations, and I will say this one was not the best. The restaurant recently opened, which was evident by how chaotic the environment felt. I ordered a 10-count of wings, half garlic parmesan and half mild sauce. My food came out cold and looked like it had been sitting out due to how rubbery the wings looked. I’d say all in all, the sports bar atmosphere was a hit, but the food’s quality was lacking. The service was good, but the staff seemed very busy, which is on par for a new spot in town.

Jack Anderson-Jussen: 10 Boneless Honey Barbecue Wings & 10 Boneless Garlic Parmesan Wings

I must preface my review and say that I am incredibly biased toward B-Dubs. Over the summer, my three best friends and I have a standing reservation at the one near us in Pittsburgh. I live and breathe Buffalo Wild Wings and, thus, am well-versed in their products. When I go, I get exclusively boneless wings on Thursday when it has the BOGO deal. Going any other time in my opinion is a waste of money because the food is rather expensive.

Despite the price, its food is consistent. I ordered 10 boneless honey barbecue wings and 10 boneless garlic parmesan wings, and I was quite pleased with the sauce level. I ordered carry-out, so I can’t speak to the service at the establishment, but if it’s anything like back home, it will take a while but be well worth the wait. My wings were very well-sauced, not too crispy, and an incredible treat after a long week of classes. I’m not sure this will be an every-week outing like it is in the summer, but I’m sure this Buffalo Wild Wings will have its time and place in my State College dining experience. I would recommend Thursdays for BOGO boneless and Tuesdays for BOGO bone-in.

Oscar Orellana: Triple Bacon Cheeseburger

I have to say, this did not hit like I thought it was going to. I absolutely love going to B-Dubs back home. It’s one of my and my girlfriend’s favorite places to eat and chill. The one at State College did not cut it for me after one visit. For starters, the food took almost an hour to come out. While that is a major gripe that I had with the experience as a whole, I will cut them some slack just because it’s a new place and has been absolutely packed. However, I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to open a chain restaurant, the menu has to stay the same. I was looking forward to sinking my teeth into a delectable cheese curd burger as I do back home, but I was forced to order the triple bacon cheeseburger due to the condensed menu.

The burger didn’t even come out piping hot like a burger should. It was obvious that it was made a while back and just took forever to get to the table, which deducted points before the burger even entered my mouth. I thought the bacon was too fatty, too chewy, and too greasy. I know, I know. It’s a chain sports bar burger, but they never come out that greasy at my B-Dubs back home. To me, the worst part of the meal was the fries. The burger still had at least some semblance of heat, but the fries just felt stale already. Absolutely did not like. I was confident in this B-Dubs and was eager to try it, but I don’t know if I’d come back with how busy it is. Maybe when the hype dies down, I’ll try it again for a new experience. But, as of now, I’d avoid it.

Ally Eaton: Six Boneless Caribbean Jerk Wings

Located just a mere two minutes from my apartment, the new Buffalo Wild Wings offered the potential for another great sports bar and food stop in Happy Valley. I’m sad to say that, for the moment, my expectations were disappointed.

I went on a Wednesday night with my roommates and our friends, hoping for less of a wait since it wasn’t a BOGO deal. Unfortunately, we still had to wait about an hour for our table, but with any new restaurant, that’s to be expected. We had planned ahead and put our names in extra early, so it wasn’t a big deal.

When we finally sat down, my roommates and I decided to test out the mozzarella sticks for an appetizer, as we do with most places we eat together. Little did I know, this would be the last round of hot and good food I was eating for the evening. The cheese pull was immaculate, and the mozzarella sticks were well-seasoned. The only flaw to this cheesy appetizer was that there were only six mozzarella sticks in total, and the appetizer was almost $10.

For my main course, I settled for six boneless wings in the Caribbean jerk sauce. This seemed like something different and a change-up from normal wings, so I welcomed the diversity. We waited over an hour for our food to come out, which parallels what I’ve heard from most people who have gone. I’m sure this is a kink the new restaurant will quickly figure out, but it’s still a bummer. We kept ourselves busy, awaiting the hot wings that were inbound, but when they finally came, they were cold. My wings really weren’t anything special, and honestly, kind of hard to eat cold. They ended up leaving rocks in my stomach, and I was questioning why I spent $16 for a very subpar meal. But hey, it’s about the community, right?

No hate to Buffalo Wild Wings — these things happen with new restaurants, especially ones planted in college towns that revolve around drinking, food, and sports. I’m going to give B-Dubs some time to iron things out before I make another return, but the trip didn’t dampen my overall hopes for the new establishment.