Papa Bees, the chicken wing joint that has fed Longwood for four decades, is packing up its fryers and sauce bottles and moving into a much bigger home. The restaurant will open its new doors at 4:30 p.m. on October 29 at 190 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd., taking over a 5,000-square-foot space that until recently housed Holy City Zoo BBQ.
The move, first reported by Orlando Weekly, shifts Papa Bees from its longtime strip-plaza storefront at 480 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd. into a space with dramatically more room to seat the crowds that have made it a destination for chicken-wing fans and Buffalo Bills fans alike. Current service will continue until the new location opens, with the old spot closing once the new one is up and running. The jump in square footage marks one of the biggest changes in the restaurant's 40-year history.
A Sauce Recipe Rooted in Buffalo
Papa Bees traces its roots back to 1986, when brothers Joe, Mike, Jerry and Kevin Burke opened a small wing joint on Curry Ford Road originally called Papa B's, named in honor of their father, Bernard Burke. Some of the Burke brothers had worked at the original Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York — the place credited with inventing the Buffalo wing — and they built their own sauce recipe with inspiration drawn directly from that lineage.
The restaurant changed hands in 2009, when Buffalo native and professional chef Jim Hamm took over and expanded its reputation for Buffalo-style wings across Central Florida. Hamm died at age 55 on April 9, 2023, according to Newcomer Funeral Home. His ex-wife, Lorie Hamm, now owns Papa Bees. Today the menu includes 22 house-made sauces, alongside scratch-made blue cheese and ranch dressings, hand-cranked curly fries and specialty sandwiches, per the restaurant's own site.
Filling a Space BBQ Couldn't Hold Onto
The building Papa Bees is moving into didn't sit empty long. Holy City Zoo BBQ, opened by Chicago-area restaurateurs Greg and Kristina Gaardbo, debuted at 190 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd. in the spring but permanently closed six weeks and two days after opening, according to Gotta Go Orlando. The restaurant's build-out preceded an asset sale that included furniture, fixtures and equipment. The space is 5,000 square feet and sits on the same corridor as Papa Bees' current location.
Papa Bees' current storefront sits in a plaza with Hourglass Brewing and Wako Taco.
Papa Bees' wings have built a following well beyond its Longwood location over the years.
