Binga's Wingas partners with The Stadium
The owners of Binga's Wingas and The Stadium are teaming up to offer Portland a classic pairing - sports and chicken wings.
Under a newly formed partnership, Binga's, the popular wing restaurant now rebounding from a November fire that destroyed its Congress Street location, will run the kitchen at the temporarily closed Free Street sports bar. The arrangement will allow The Stadium's owner, Michael Harris, to focus on the bar business and other operations, while offering diners a full Binga's menu, Alec Altman, Binga's co-owner, tells Mainebiz. Along with its wings (basted in sauces from traditional Buffalo to mouth-scorching "Chernobyl"), Binga's also offers sandwiches and ribs.
Other plans for the roughly 10,000-square-foot leased space include a 185-seat restaurant on the upper level, a game room and function room on the first floor with an ancillary bar, and storage and office space in the basement, Altman says. Permitting is expected to wrap soon and the team is eager to open, though a firm date hasn't been set. "This deal with The Stadium puts our wings in Portland this summer," Altman says.
Binga's Congress Street restaurant remains boarded up while the insurance company settles on final numbers. Altman and co-owner J.D. Way would like to reopen an improved location there, but it could take time, Altman says. However, the business has expanded to Yarmouth, opening a location last week on Route 1 in the building that once housed the landmark Bill's Pizza.
Three months ago, Binga's employed only Altman, Way and Aaron Pastor (director of sauce and marketing). Now, the restaurant has 25 workers on its payroll, with plans to add at least 50 more to staff The Stadium venture.
The partnership with the sports bar was a natural fit, with Binga's expertise handling large volumes, and its contracts serving meals to the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team and the Portland Pirates hockey team staff, Altman says. The chicken wing expert isn't planning a fly-by-night venture, either, citing a long-term lease agreement. "We're doing business to the end of the lease," Altman says.
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