Through years of restaurant openings, menu innovations, trivia nights and more, Texas-based Pluckers Wing Bar has been committed to serving its local communities since 1990.

How it started

The idea for Pluckers came about when co-founders and co-owners Mark Greenberg and Dave Paul were students at The University of Texas at Austin and wanted chicken wings delivered one late night.

With no wing delivery option to satisfy their cravings, Paul said they created a concept for a wing delivery restaurant.

They spent years perfecting wing and sauce recipes at their house and put them to the ultimate test at a Silver Spurs Chili Cook-off, where they cooked up free wings and handed out t-shirts with the original Pluckers logo.
Pluckers Wing Bar co-owners Mark Greenberg, Sean Greenberg and Dave Paul. (Courtesy Pluckers Wing Bar)
Pluckers Wing Bar co-owners Mark Greenberg, Sean Greenberg and Dave Paul. (Courtesy Pluckers Wing Bar)
“We thought about the idea of dropping out of college and starting the concept our freshman year, but our parents basically said, ‘You're not dropping out of college,’” Paul said. “So we worked on it for four years, and then we opened Pluckers two weeks after we graduated in July of 1995.”


Paul, Greenberg and Greenberg’s brother Sean, also a co-owner, opened the first Pluckers in West Campus, offering takeout and delivery service. Paul said they evolved into more of a dining experience, listening to customer feedback to keep it successful.

How it’s going

Today, Pluckers has eight locations in Austin and over 30 across Texas.
Pluckers Wing Bar serves chicken wings with a variety of sauce options. (Photo by Melissa Skorpil, courtesy Pluckers Wing Bar)
Pluckers Wing Bar serves chicken wings with a variety of sauce options. (Photo by Melissa Skorpil, courtesy Pluckers Wing Bar)
The company opened its eighth Austin location at Southpark Meadows in February, one of its most successful openings ever, according to Paul. The new restaurant bridged a gap between the Pluckers on South Lamar Boulevard and the one in San Marcos.

“I think it shows us even more so that people love Pluckers, no matter where we are,” he said.
Pluckers serves chicken wings, burgers, appetizers, salads, sandwiches and more. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
Pluckers serves chicken wings, burgers, appetizers, salads, sandwiches and more. (Sarah Hernandez/Community Impact)
The restaurant serves the same made-from-scratch appetizers, wings, sauces and more that customers love, like the Holy Macaroni, fried pickles and Dr. Pepper sauce.


Pluckers also serves burgers, salads, sandwiches, desserts, beer and cocktails.

Looking ahead

Pluckers strives to build connections with each location’s community through local involvement and recruiting staff locally. Paul said their goal is to open four to six restaurants per year.

He said they think of themselves as an “unchain” and want to be a go-to spot for everyone, from families to college friend groups.


“I think the success has been, you know, the concept is great, but I think it's really being local and people feeling like that,” Paul said. “They feel at home at Pluckers. That really is our goal.”