In a Bellissimo family story, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar when Buffalo wings were created.
The story places the creation at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964. Dominic, the son of owners Frank and Teressa Bellissimo, was reportedly serving at the bar when friends arrived unexpectedly. Teressa is said to have quickly deep-fried chicken wings and coated them in a cayenne-pepper hot sauce, creating the dish now known as Buffalo wings.
This account is one of several competing origin stories. Another version says the restaurant received wings instead of backs and necks intended for sauce, while another emphasizes that Teressa created the snack for Dominic's late-night customers. The family accounts also differ over the precise circumstances, so the question's wording appropriately identifies this as a Bellissimo family story.
Buffalo wings are traditionally served unbreaded, hot, and tossed with a sauce based on cayenne hot sauce and melted butter. The name refers to Buffalo, New York—not the animal.