Rick Palmer has always had a keen taste for chicken wings, especially the sauce that his most favorite finger food is doused with.

Former owner of Old Dad’s restaurant and county resident for the past 20 years,

Palmer has now bottled his secret recipe that many claim is the best wing sauce around.

“I invented the sauce in 1999 after one and a half years of trial and error,” Palmer said. “It is made with 11 ingredients and is full of flavor.”

Primarily a wing sauce, but also an all-purpose sauce, Palmer noted that it is not hot and is a sauce that can satisfy the taste buds of adults and kids alike.

“For those who like (their wing sauce flavor) hot, all they need to do is add cayenne pepper, which is indicated on the label,” Palmer said. “Other than being good on wings, its good with shrimp, venison, pork and any other of your favorite meats.”

Palmer said that when he moved to Dawson County, there was not a good place to get wings or any place to buy good wing sauce. After an unsatisfying search for the right sauce, Palmer said he began putting things together to make his own sauce.

Trying his creation on family and friends with home-cooked meals, Palmer said that everyone told him it was the best wing sauce they had ever had.

“When people get free food, they will usually always tell you it’s good,” Palmer said. “In 2003, I opened Old Dad’s Restaurant off of Nix Bridge Road as a way to test the success of the wing sauce.”

He said that paying for food is a true testament to a sincere opinion of whether it is good or not, and added that during the two years that the restaurant was open, almost 2 million wings were served with the famous sauce.

“The restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall type place that people came from all over to visit, bringing out of town guests because it was a place with a unique menu that could not be found anywhere else,” he said.

Wanting to get out of owning a restaurant, Palmer said he closed the Old Dad’s restaurant in 2005 and then began working on bottling his creation that had people coming from all over to enjoy. He was able to bottle the recipe in 2007 with the help of his partner Danny Hall.

“Thanks to Jay Walker and his support of local entrepreneurs, the  sauce is available for purchase at the Kroger in Dawsonville,” Palmer said.

He added that several stores along the Gulf Coast sell the sauce as well. 

Now the food and beverage director at the Heron Grille at the Chestatee Golf Club, Old Dad’s popular menu items such as wings (tossed in the sauce) and the famous philly sandwich are on the menu.

Open to the public everyday for lunch, Palmer noted that the grille has an all-you-can-eat wings special on Thursday nights.

“There are plenty of good barbeque sauces out there, but not many good wing sauces,” Palmer said. “With Old Dad’s Original Wing Sauce, people can enjoy good wings at home.”

For more information about the sauce or for interested retailers, contact Palmer at rpalmer@chestateegolf.net.