Wing Man: Paul Chmiel of Leo’s Wings

“…first restaurant in South Carolina to sell chicken wings”

Restaurants worldwide are coping with the climate change in the industry that has been engulfed by the Coronavirus. But Paul Chmiel, owner of Leo’s Wings in downtown Cheraw and Lugoff, is optimistic about the perseverance of his businesses within the community.

Leo’s in Lugoff, after all, has been around since 1978. Leo’s in Cheraw opened in October 2018. Both locations currently offer takeout and/or safe outdoor seating. Chmiel says the staff has been all in from the beginning of this pandemic.

“In the beginning when all this stuff started, we had meetings with everybody and said, ‘If you’re not comfortable with working, by all means, stay home, apply for whatever, you have our blessing, and we’ll help you out with whatever you need to do,” he says. “Nobody took us up on that. Everybody said, ‘Let’s just run through it and see what happens. And that’s really a testament to our employees.”

As the name implies, Leo’s Wings is anchored in a menu of dozen types of wings, from honey mustard to extra hot and everything in between. They also serve up specialties like raw fries, cheeseburgers, fried fish platters, grilled chicken and more. Chmiel reports that, luckily, they really haven’t had to limit items on the menu.

“It was a relatively streamlined menu to begin with,” he says. “But, luckily, we’ve had strong communication with our sales reps to stay ahead of the curve to where are our guests in our communities haven’t seen or felt any issues, at least from us. That’s been very good.”

Chmiel and his mom, who lives in Hawaii, bought the Lugoff landmark seven years ago. He brought on Thomas Armstrong II to run the Cheraw location, which opened in 2018.

“He’s been a blessing pretty much since we opened in Cheraw,” says Chmiel. “And our location in Lugoff was the first restaurant in South Carolina to sell chicken wings – possibly the first even the Southeast, because of Leo himself. He came from Buffalo, New York.”

Chmiel was born in Connecticut, a “military brat” whose father served on Navy subs, so the family moved all over the country. He graduated from Fort Dorcester High School in North Charleston and attended Winthrop University to earn a history degree, with the end goal to become a college professor. In his last semester, however, his career path shifted. His wife received a phone call that her father had died, so the newlyweds moved to Camden to help get her mother’s affairs in order. They stayed in Camden, where they started a family, ever since.

“I think it’s interesting how life takes you where you’re supposed to go, whether you want to go or not, you know?” says Chmiel. “And then it’s a testament to you as a person on how you play your cards.”

Chmiel went on to work for three large casual restaurant chains, catapulting from dishwasher to bartender to a new store opener in 10 years’ time. And, in 2013, he had the opportunity to open Leo’s before it went under.

“Bad things happen to everybody all the time,” says Chmiel. “It’s really how you recover and move forward. The attitudes at both locations have been positive, and in this environment with so many negative attitudes, that would’ve made it a hundred times worse. And then, ultimately, our guests have had great, positive attitudes, too. So that’s been a testament to the people of Cheraw and the Lugoff/Camden areas.”

Chmiel says when he’s not making things run smoothly at Leo’s, he and his family of four like to fish and spend time outside – especially on the beach.

To order takeout, find out more about outdoor dining availability, and confirm up-to-date hours, call 843-865-9131 (Cheraw, 155 Second St.) or 803-438-9229 (Lugoff, 698 Highway 1 South) or visit them on Facebook.