For over 40 years, George Aiken’s has been serving fresh, homemade food at affordable prices with their restaurant’s fried wingdings being the most famous.

Colin Anderson and Diane Hopkins agree that the fried wingdings and chicken are one of the reasons they keep going back to George Aiken’s.

“My favorite dish here is the wingdings. If you don’t have a lot of time, just grab some wings,” said Anderson, a resident of Aliquippa.

“I like the fried chicken. It’s home cooked, and it’s not greasy. It’s as if you cooked it yourself. I also like the mashed potatoes,” said Hopkins, a resident of Pittsburgh.

The wingdings are sold in buckets or in platters. For five wingdings it costs $3.50, and for 10 wingdings it costs $6.25. A platter of wingdings comes with five wingdings, two sides and a roll for $6.25. A bucket of 50 wingdings costs $26.50.

George Aiken’s also sells fried-chicken breast at $2.95, fried-chicken wings at $1.50 each and fried-chicken legs at $1.35 each.

The most expensive platter is $8.25 for a half rotisserie chicken platter with two sides and a roll.

Some sides that George Aiken’s serves are cole slaw, macaroni salad, potato salad, cottage cheese, fruit salad, Jell-O salad, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, vegetables and beans. For a 5.5 ounce side it costs $2, for an 8 ounce side it costs $2.25, and for a 16 ounce side, it costs $3.25. There is also a side platter available that consists of three sides and a roll for $4.95.

“Hungry people come here to eat because the prices are reasonable, unlike other places around,” Anderson said.

The owner of George Aiken’s said the prices are an attraction for the restaurant.

“We raised prices but were still fairly cheap compared to any other place to eat in the city,” said Tony Braverso.

Braverso also feels that there really is no competition with the type of food they sell because it is the only place in the area that sells rotisserie chicken and at a decent price.

The busiest time of the day for the restaurant is lunchtime. George Aiken’s does not deliver.

The employees of George Aiken’s greeted everyone who entered and left the store. They also showed a close relationship to their customers by already knowing what regular customers ordered.

Bernice Lastar, a resident of Pittsburgh, said she thinks that the customer service at George Aiken’s is good.

“I’ve been coming to George Aiken’s for over 20 years, and everyone’s family,” Lastar said.

Hopkins has been coming to George Aiken’s for about 15 years and said he thinks the restaurant is welcoming.

“They are very family oriented and nice,” Hopkins said.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxing and inviting. One employee offered to carry over a customer’s tray of food because she struggled with all her bags.

“Most people probably just walk past, but I find this place to be a nice atmosphere,” Anderson said.

George Aiken’s is located near Market Square, next to The Exchange on Forbes Avenue.