Fountain Valley’s newest chicken spot, Cyber Wings, doesn’t only serve wings galore. The Brookhurst Street spot is also attempting to solve one of casual dining’s biggest headaches: frustrating service.
Owner Alex Flores, a Cal State Fullerton graduate raised in Anaheim and with a background in the tech and film industries, noticed a recurring problem at traditional sports bars and chicken pit stops. “The service was always terrible,” he said, noting the long wait on food and drinks while watching a game. His solution was to launch an eatery that uses technology to streamline operations while keeping the focus on the food and the game.
Cyber Wings, which opened in May, takes a hybrid approach to service. While it offers a comfortable, full-service atmosphere (complete with eight flatscreens, corrugated metal sheeting, wood panel accents, partial booth seating and sports jerseys (including a signed one from the late Kobe Bryant), the ordering process is fully digitized. Guests can use a QR code to order and pay directly from their phones, pinging the server when they need a refill or to check out. This system, which has seen a spurt in prevalence ever since the pandemic, is designed to reduce overhead costs and prune away lag time between customers and the restaurant’s wings.
But standard service, for those who eschew modern technology, is still available.
Guided by Flores’ own recipes he developed over an eight-month period, Cyber Wings serves traditional bone-in, boneless, baked or cauliflower wings. In addition to its titular fare, patrons can look forward to loaded fries, chicken nachos, tater tots, chicken quesadilla and burrito, salads, waffle cut fries, onion rings, chicken tenders, tiramisu and more.
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Wings start out at $9.50 for a six-piece and up to $15.95 for a 12-piece, but you can also get some deals: Mondays offer a $20 all-you-can-eat wing special with a 90-minute limit, while Wednesdays feature $1 wings all day.
Flores and his team, including marketing and operations lead Jacqueline Nguyen, have quickly found their footing since opening in May. “We grew pretty quickly in this tiny space,” he said, noting a regular line out the door on busy Monday evenings.
Flavors include salt and pepper, lemon pepper, barbecue, Cajun, honey garlic, buffalo, garlic-parm and a litany of spicy flavors on the Scoville scale ranging from Thai sweet chili (mild) to mango habanero (medium) to cyber reaper (blazing).
The beer list includes Modelo, Sapporo, Blue Moon, Hazy Little Thing IPA, Pacifico and Recursion IPA. Other libations include seltzers (Bottle Logic, White Claw), wine and soju.
Cyber Wings’ focus on frustrating wait times in favor of streamlined, tech-enabled service allows guests to focus on their basket of wings (replete with ranch dressing and spears of carrots and celery) and the Lakers game on the screen.
Find it: 17431 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, 714-274-9099