Munchies Chicken & Fish employee Terase Jennings, left, puts together a to-go order of wedge fries and chicken wings for Lansing resident Willia Jones, right. Jennings, who has worked for Munchies for three years, said the fried chicken gizzards bring in customers from miles away because so few restaurants serve them.
Lansing — A large yellow-and-red sign outside Munchies Chicken & Fish, 4100 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in Lansing, reads in all capital letters “Cheapest wings in town, period.”
When it comes to the quality of wings, business manager Bob Creagh stresses that just because the wings are a deal, it does not mean the customer is getting anything less.
“These are whole wings, not wing dings, so you’re getting the entire wing. We’re not slicing them up and calling them a wing ding,” Creagh said.
Creagh, a 1979 MSU graduate with a business administration degree, said Munchies gets a fair share of business from MSU and recently filled an order for 200 wings from an MSU faith-based organization throwing a Super Bowl party.
Creagh said although the restaurant offers their customers plenty of bargains, business during times of hardship is still difficult.
“Business is tough right now, of course. It’s challenging for everybody. We’re no different,” Creagh said.
While the restaurant serves the standard chicken-and-fish fare, the menu also includes some more unusual items.
“I would say for a unique experience, try chicken livers and chicken gizzards, something that most students of today’s world would not normally eat,” Creagh said.
Cleaned, washed, steamed, cooled and pressure-fried, the chicken gizzards at Munchies are chewy, crispy pieces of chicken that are spicily seasoned. A bit of hot sauce can also be added for an extra kick.
“Some people just come for gizzards because they can’t get gizzards anywhere else, and frankly we have a good-tasting gizzard,” Creagh said.
Terase Jennings, a Munchies employee and Lansing resident, says that gizzards are a very popular item.
“We probably sell 30, 35 pints a day,” Jennings said.
Another popular item at Munchies is a peach-flavored beverage. Willia Jones, a Lansing resident and regular at Munchies, said it’s one of her favorite items.
“Everybody sells chicken, but the (potato) wedges and the peach, believe me, is the most popular thing at Munchies.” Jones said. “I might not be hungry at all, but the peach drink is what I really come here for too. That and the wedges.”
Jennings said Munchies has many loyal customers — some so regular that she has their order memorized. But it’s more than food that keeps them coming back.
“You come here, and you can feel like home. We’re just not all about business, you know, we make our customers laugh, we talk to them,” said Jennings.
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