AGAWAM – Whether a fan of football or not, many people can appreciate the party that comes with Super Bowl Sunday annually. With the New England Patriots competing in the 2019 game, it is almost certain that local residents will be celebrating with snacks while the Los Angeles Rams take on the Pats.

Since it’s opening in 2006, Main Street Deli has become a staple for homemade food and family atmosphere. At any moment during operating hours, the tables inside of the location owned by Joanne and Rick Locke are full of diners enjoying meals such as sandwiches, salads, and the infamous Mike’s Giant Wings.

In a review of Main Street Deli on the restaurant’s Facebook page last year, Feeding Hills resident Charlie Dupre said, “We ordered 100 extra crispy wings for Super Bowl. We got three different flavors: Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan and Hot Buffalo wings. The wings were amazing and perfectly cooked to what we asked for.”

Mike’s Giant Wings have a reputation in Agawam of being one-of-a-kind. With Super Bowl Sunday approaching fast, Reminder Publishing spoke with Joanne and Frank’s son, Mike Locke, to see what has made his wing creations so popular in the Agawam community.

Locke began working alongside his father from a young age.

“I have been working for my father in his deli since I was about ten years old. I have learned a lot over the past 23 years,” Locke said.

Main Street Deli moved from a smaller location to their current location in 2009. The transformed historical 1863 carriage house located at 141 Main St. in Agawam is the restaurant’s permanent home, and Locke said he wanted to bring something different to the new location.

“When we moved into our current location in 2009, we wanted to bring something new to the menu other than our traditional sandwiches, salads and burgers. Being a huge fan of wings and having tried them everywhere, I thought it would be something new and exciting that would work,” Locke explained.

Main Street Deli has offered wings on their menu ever since. It was only three years ago that the restaurant revamped the wings to become “giant.”

The wings come in a variety of unique flavors created by Locke: over 24 to be exact. Flavors offered include Nitro, #7 family recipe, 141 (honey mustard and horseradish,) Salt and Vinegar, Peacemaker BBQ and Garlic Pepper. Main Street Deli offers a combination of both sauces and dry rubs for wings.

Each order of Mike’s Giant Wings comes in four sizes. Customers have the option to order a 6-piece, 10-piece, 20-piece, 40-piece and 100-piece. Boneless wings are also available and can be ordered in a 6-piece, 10-piece and 25-piece.

Locke explained that the size of the wings differs from the typical chicken wing. “Our wings aren’t your traditional wings and drumettes that you might find at one of our competitors or a chain. They are actually full-sized drumsticks.” Locke said.

Locke explained that the wings are also cooked to ensure that they are crisp throughout. “We coat them with rice flour, which allows them to be extra crispy on the outside and ultra moist on the inside. They accommodate our 24 plus flavors including six dry rubs,” Locke said.

With a number of chains and small businesses offering chicken wings, Locke shared that it has inspired him to come up with new and different flavors. “The competition in the wings business is pretty robust. You have chains like Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters that have their own great flavors. In order to be different, we needed to think outside the box. We tried vigorously to improve upon some of the classic flavors, but also came up with some originals.” Locke said.

Locke shared that his personal favorite is the “Peacemaker BBQ” flavor. “It has a combination of four different sauces as well as a dry rub that really sets off the flavor.” Locke said.

Main Street Deli is accepting orders for the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 by time slot only. With Mike’s Giant Wings and offerings such as the “Patriot” sandwich and “Tom Brady” Panini, there’s no doubt that Agawam residents will be carrying out orders for the big game.

Main Street Deli is open Mon. – Wed. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thurs. and Fri. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sun. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The restaurant is located at 141 Main Street.

To place an order, please call 821-9881.