Waayyy Too Much Sauce’s Chris Lowe talks turkey legs and diamond dust

Waayyy Too Much Sauce opened quietly at the end of October to little fanfare. “I wanted everything perfect before I did any more interviews,” said owner Chris Lowe, the mastermind behind some truly visually spectacular offerings like like 24-karat gold wings and "diamond-dusted" wings, fries and turkey legs.

Unlike most restaurants of his kind, Lowe changes the menu almost daily and is reticent to to even say what dishes are available at the moment. “Everyday we add another item to the menu,” he said. “Today, we’re probably going with a baked potato, stuffed with all the toppings.” He has an array of sauces, from sweet and spicy and lemon pepper to the liquor-inspired D’usse to 1738 Remy Martin sauces. “I wanted people to anticipate,” Lowe said. “Like, ‘What’s next? What can he do to top that?’” But when asked the most obvious question – what is diamond dust? – Lowe becomes tight-lipped. “I can’t,” he said, laughing. But he knows that we want to know.  

In a sense, it doesn’t really matter how he makes those wings, as much as who they’re for. In Lowe’s view, they’re for everyone. “We’re dealing with all this stuff in the world. People don’t have money. That’s why I started doing the diamond dust for free,” he said. “I want everyone to be able to experience that – young, old, white, black, all races, all creeds. Come in and enjoy the food. I’m going to give you an experience.” Those experiences can come via walk-ins, catering and, eventually, the popular ordering and reservation service Tock, which he’s in the process of setting up.  

The fact that he’s serving food to his own community is by design. “I wanted people to see motivation. When you’re dealing with a lot of gang violence in certain areas … I wanted people to see a good side. We have a great time. We have great days in those neighborhoods. I want people to look at us and view us as individuals and human beings, going through things like everyone else.” Though Lowe is back in his old stomping ground, it was a bit of a journey to get there. When he was younger, Lowe participated in some of the gang activities he mentioned; after doing time in jail for selling drugs, he decided it was time to come back home and try to have a more positive impact. “I’m trying to help build the community back up, because I know I helped tear it down,” he said. “It’s my time to step up to the plate and help out.”