Popular wing spot in Macon to open a second location in Warner Robins. See inside
Shavon Toomer left her internet sales job at an auto dealership three years ago to become a managing partner of a Warner Robins restaurant known for its Southern comfort food.
Toomer jokes that she traded selling $40,000 vehicles for serving up $10 plates when she left Walsh Honda in Macon and joined the team at Fried Green Tomatoes on Russell Parkway in 2021.
In 2022, she became a managing partner of Macon’s Wingtopia, which changed its name on its one-year anniversary to HypeWing to avoid confusion with an Atlanta restaurant with a similar name.
Today, Toomer is launching a second location as a managing partner of HypeWing at 504 Russell Parkway in the former Hunni BJ’s Food Bar & Grill location.
“I never thought in a million years I’d be in the restaurant business,” said Toomer, who started out part-time as a side hustle at the Fried Green Tomatoes in Centerville in 2018. “This is my third grand opening.”
The HypeWing locations are owned by the family behind 478 Country Buffet in Byron, Fried Green Tomatoes restaurants in Middle Georgia and other spinoff restaurants NoName Chicken and NoName Burger in Warner Robins.
A stone’s throw from Fried Green Tomatoes on Russell, the new HypeWing is expected to open by mid-November.
The new spot
So what’s all the hype behind HypeWing?
For starters, customers can choose from 20 wing sauces, including two new sauces unique to the Warner Robins location. But that’s not all.
“You can get the seafood or the burgers and fries, hibachi, there’s just a large variety, and I think that’s what stands out,” Toomer said.
Other entrees include philly sandwiches, chicken tenders, fried rice, salads plus add-ons of french fries, onion rings, fried okra, fried dumplings, spring rolls and more.
The new spot offers “hype” wings, which are traditional bone-in, and boneless wings, which are breaded chicken breast bites. Both are tossed in the customer’s choice of sauces or can be ordered “naked” without sauce.
One of the new sauces is the garlic Parmesan. The other is FGT Russell, a sweet and spicy sauce that’s a nod to the Fried Green Tomatoes on Russell Parkway and created by its kitchen manager.
“It is extremely popular at our Fried Green Tomatoes on Russell,” Toomer said. “We’re like, we’ve got to have it here.”
Another nod to the sister restaurant and unique to the HypeWing in Warner Robins is the menu option of fried green tomatoes.
“My go to at HypeWing is definitely the chicken Philly, and people laugh at me all the time because I call myself so greedy because I’m like put me some bacon on there and I add extra mayo. I just juice it up,” Toomer said.
The chicken Philly comes with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and mayonnaise. Add bacon for an upcharge.
The menu also features a traditional Philly cheesesteak sandwich as well bulgogi Philly, which is “cooked with sweet and salty Korean-style sauce marinated beef,” according to the menu.
Another favorite of Toomer’s is the hype burger, a half-pound beef patty topped with hype mayo, cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion. Hype mayo is a house-made sweet mayonnaise.
She adds six-piece wings on the side for an upcharge, an option for any combination meal.
Operating hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The restaurant will offer dine-in, takeout and delivery through DoorDash. The number is 478-551-1140.
