Wings and More flew the coop ...

DIXON – When Mike and June Fritts opened Wings and More in February 2017 on Depot Avenue, their delicious food brought them many happy customers.

When a spot downtown, at 221 W. First St., became available, they grabbed it, and after some renovations, moved in in November 2018.

It was a good move – their customer base doubled right away.

June, 47, is from Thailand, and in 2009 she moved to Florida to help a cousin with his Thai restaurant. That’s how she and Mike met: Mike’s folks, Jim and Mary Fritts, introduced her to Mike, 62, during one of his visits to Florida.

They married a year later.

Wings and More serves traditional mild to spicy chicken wings, but that is only half the menu. The other half represents June’s heritage, and foods the Frittses like to cook and eat as a family.

Their most popular side dish is Mike’s fried rice.

“Most people think the chef is me, because I am Asian, but it’s not,” June said. “The chef is Mike. This fried rice is going to be the talk of the town.”

Mike, a 1975 Dixon High grad, learned to cook fried rice working in a “Chinese Thai to go” restaurant; he cooked batch after batch until he determined it was perfect.

Good cooks run in his family.

“My grandmother, Margaret Fritts, always cooked great food, and was instrumental in starting the Meals on Wheels program in Dixon with my aunt, Pauline Hermes,” Mike said. “She would deliver food to me in her 90s, even after I became an adult.”

His mom also was a big influence.

“Two items on the menu are my mom’s chili and spaghetti. I have changed the recipe to make it our own, but the love of those dishes came from her making them all the time,” he said.

“We choose items for the menu that we like to eat.”

Among their most popular dishes are the salmon dinner, their scrumptious egg rolls, and a traditional pot roast.

“We never have any leftovers,” June said with a smile. “When I log into Facebook, I am happy to see all the great response we are getting for our food. People we don’t even know yet are repeat customers, and I cannot wait to meet them and thank them.”

Wings and More also offers a range of sauces, nearly 30 in all, some invented by customers, and one that’s June’s signature sauce.

June learned to cook from her mother, who also sent her to cooking school.

“Her mom is a phenomenal cook, and she prepares everything from scratch,” Mike said.

Their son, eighth-grader Chon Lee, helps out.

“Chon is very fast, and takes very good care of our customers,” June said.

The Frittses recently hired a new cook, 18-year-old Imanol Aburto.

“I tell [him] to think of his favorite person when he cooked,” Mike said. “Make everything like you were cooking for them. Every customer is our most important customer.

“What’s for dinner is a big decision every day. It’s important. Food is what brings us together.”

That’s not all they do to bring people together. Mike and June help raise money for local schools, selling $10 tickets for wings and spaghetti dinners, and they are strong supporters of the downtown.

“We support the other restaurants here,” June said.

“If you are alone, you are not going to make it. Some local business owners order from us, and we eat at their restaurants.

“It is good for us to see how we can do better.”

Pop in for a bite

Wings and More, 221 W. First St. in Dixon, is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The Frittses deliver within 5 miles of Dixon, and online ordering will be added soon. They also will open anytime for parties.

Call 815-288-1780 or find Wings N More on Facebook for menu items, specials and more information.