Thursday morning, the king of the world walked into a Williamsville coffee shop, ordered a grande decaf and sat at an open table. No heads turned.

Save for the black sweat shirt with Wing King stenciled discreetly on the front, the tall, brown-haired guy with the loping stride blended into the crowd. It was a low-key entrance for a triumphant figure fresh off of a milestone.

There are many worlds that one might be king of. Drew Cerza is indisputably king of the wing.

The chicken appendage clucked to culinary life 46 years ago in the Anchor Bar kitchen, captured local hearts and appetites, then broke big across the land. Cerza certified Buffalo’s claim on the barroom-to-living-room favorite by, nine years ago, creating the National Buffalo Wing Festival. Last weekend’s event again showed that its reach extends not just from state to state or country to country, but from continent to continent.

All of which helps, in a small but significant way, to put Buffalo on the map.

What is good for Cerza –a can-do guy with a creative spirit and a promoter’s heart —and good for the festival is, needless to say, good for Buffalo. Cerza’s motivations nine years ago, aside from profit, were simple: To indelibly pound Buffalo’s stamp on the wing, erasing any doubt about its point of origin. To bring outsiders here to spend time, spend money and to see a Buffalo reality beyond our blizzard-distorted image. And to send them home to spread the word.

This is one occasion that a public figure can confidently state: Mission Accomplished.

Some 70,000 people (by Cerza’s admittedly generous estimate) came to the Wingfest. A tourism official at the entrance logged points of origin. For the first time, the festival lured folks from each of the 50 states. From 26 countries. From six of the seven continents.

“Next year we will get someone from Antarctica,” vowed Cerza, “if I have to get dogsleds to bring them in.”

Antarctica or not, this thing has a global reach beyond any other local festival or event. Folks came from parts as distant as China, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Singapore, Lebanon, France and Australia. Presumably it was not a one-day commute.

“A great many of the people I spoke with at our booth came mainly for this, combined with a trip to Niagara Falls,” said Cheryl Zanghi of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. It is a two-way street. People come here and drop that most coveted of commodities, out-of-town dollars. And the media word goes out globally, putting Buffalo on the map for something besides blizzards.

According to the media research group Cerza contracted with, the Wingfest was mentioned more than 170 times on national and local TV news across the country—reaching some 200 million people. The story was carried in newspapers from the Toronto Star to the Mainichi (Japan) Daily News.

What it means, I think, is a festival that capitalizes on our claim to arguably the major signature food item in America has morphed into a huge annual tourism draw as well as a global advertisement for the city. The word gets out through the vast media coverage but, even more so, by word of mouth from thousands of visitors.

“That is the most effective advertising we can get,” said the CVB’s Ed Healy. “It is better than any ad in the New York Times. A personal endorsement from a friend or family member will influence people to visit more than any media exposure.”

A decade ago, there was nothing. Today, we have an international draw with a global reach.

The guy behind it all walked unnoticed Thursday into a suburban coffee shop. King of the world? No question.

desmonde@buffnews.comnull