Duff’s Famous Wings closes Little Italy location, citing higher minimum wage and food prices
Posted March 2, 2026 2:40 pm.
Last Updated March 3, 2026 2:56 pm.
A favourite spot for Buffalo-style chicken wings in Toronto has decided to permanently shutter, with one of its owners citing a convergence of economic factors that chewed through profits.
Duff’s Famous Wings announced the closure of its College Street restaurant in Little Italy after nearly 20 years at the location.
Co-owner Rob Erlich told CityNews on Tuesday it was a “business decision” that made sense in light of current market conditions.
“The government keeps raising minimum wage on us, the rent keeps going up, the food prices keep going up,” he said in a phone interview.
He also said dining habits on the popular Little Italy strip had changed, with more people opting to order in.
“People were constantly doing takeout,” he said.
That meant third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes were taking a cut of profits, not to mention impacting alcohol sales.
The College Street location opened in March of 2007.
The closure was first announced on Duff’s Instagram page.
“After 19 years on College Street, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close this location,” a post stated.
“The restaurant has been a huge part of our lives, and we are sincerely grateful to our amazing staff, our loyal customers and the community that supported us over the years.”
Two other Duff’s locations in Ontario, one at Bayview Avenue in Toronto and another on Bathurst Street in Vaughan, remain open.
The location on Bayview was first to open north of the border, back in 1998.
Duff’s served up its first batch of wings at a corner shop in Amherst, New York, just north of Buffalo, in 1969.
“Duff’s began to create a name for itself and a reputation for having the best wings in Buffalo,” the Duff’s website states.
