Ode to the Unsung Hero - Wing on Wheat (He he!)

For the third and final installment of this tribute to the unsung heroes in Black History, I want to take you back to the 90s. In my case, it was 1996 to be exact. I arrived in the nation's largest consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities - the Atlanta University Center and somehow knew my life would never be the same. I was a freshman at Clark Atlanta University. Dinner in the cafe always ended around 7p (promptly followed by a football team initiated food fight). And, around 9 or 10p, I might find myself craving a snack. Before I knew it, I had scraped up a couple of dollars, and was at the corner of James P. Brawley and some little side street, inside of a Black-owned, cramped-up, "sells a little bit of everything under the sun" corner store, awaiting that oh-so-special moment. You know the one. That mouth-watering moment when the dude behind the counter would hit that little bell and holler:

WING ON WHEAT!!!

I couldn't wait to get my hands on those big old chicken wings and that slice of wheat bread that curbed an appetite like nothing else; and there was only one place that could get the "wing on wheat" right in the AUC -- STEGALL'S.

Fast forward into the new millennium and Stegall's is no longer. I got the notice in February of 2005 and couldn't believe my eyes when I went to campus and the building that birthed more "wing on wheats" than anyone could count was GONE. Talk about a SAD DAY in AUC history.

Now, anyone who attended school in the AUC -- or just hung out on "the strip" -- will reflect on times frequenting Mr. Stegall's establishment. I mean, I almost got shot in front of the joint and ended up making a friend for life through the experience. But, as the author of the "Stegall's is Shutting Down" email so eloquently put it, "For whatever we can say about Mr. Stegall, however bad or unjust, he put many a crackheads to work. Real Talk... First the Fat Boys break-up and now this. ONE TIME FOR THE WING ON WHEAT!!"

So, yes... Mr. Stegall is my final (Black) unsung hero. And, in keeping with my theme of enlightenment, I thought I would share some little known facts (and these are real) around the man, his HISTORIC establishment and its unfortunate closing:

1. Mr. Stegall's full name is John Stegall.

2. Stegall's Grocery sat on the corner of James P. Brawley and Parson for 20 years, serving AUC students, faculty and staff everything from a hot (fried) meal to deodorant to Black n Milds...

3. According Mr. Stegall, the Woodruff Library (a.k.a. "Club Woody") bought Stegall's Grocery on Dec. 12, 2005.

4. It was reported that Stegall tried to buy the property in 1990, unsuccessfully. Woodruff Library offered more money to property owner J.H Robinson, which led to the purchase of his space (and the end of the wing on wheat as we knew it).

5. Mr. Stegall plans to develop another location on Fair Street. Until then, you might be able to find a decent "wing on wheat" at his Campbellton Road location (2969 Campbellton Road -- "John & San" soul food).

Since I play a lot, I want to reiterate that the nuggets of Black history that I shared above are FACTUAL (all jokes aside). For proof, you can check out this article that ran in CAU's student paper.

Now that you're convinced of my journalistic integrity... please join me in a moment of silence as we reflect on Stegall's Grocery and the beloved WING ON WHEAT. *silence*

This has been today's little known nugget of Black History (part three) -- he he! :-)

Be enlightened. Be proud. Be blessed.