Our History

The concept for Toxic Wings was born in 2014 when Brandon Ingram, a 25-year veteran of the fast-food industry, and his wife Teresita came up with a modern take on the hamburger, chicken, and fries restaurant. They felt there was a market for healthier versions of this cuisine with bold flavors. A place that was vegetarian-friendly and gluten-free from the outset, not an afterthought. They wanted a bold brand — most restaurants play it safe with bland marketing to match their blandly flavored menus. The idea for the name ‘toxic’ came from the hot peppers that are in many of their recipes for the hot wing sauces. They contain capsaicin, a natural chemical which gives peppers their heat. Although fans of spicy food around the world would beg to differ, eating too many chili peppers can be toxic (don’t worry, Toxic has the right amount!). And so Toxic Wings & Fries was born. The first location on River Road, with just 6 small tables and an outside eating area, became an instant local favorite. 

Some people think naming a restaurant Toxic is crazy. But most people are curious to find out what we’re all about. Once they experience the ‘keep it healthy’ mission and taste the food, they get it. In fact, the restaurant’s unofficial motto is, ‘It’s not bad for you, it’s Toxic!’.

Balancing the company’s modern, bold brand is an old fashioned, relentless focus on great service. As visitors to any Toxic will instantly experience, as much pride goes into the service as the food.

Toxic’s first claim to fame was their chicken wings and chicken sandwich. But the hamburgers are some of the best around and have become their top sellers. So in 2021 they decided to rebrand to Toxic Burger.

In 2016 the Ingrams took on investors to help expand Toxic’s footprint. In 2018, they opened, Toxic West 11th, a drive-through. A location by the University of Oregon on E13th St opened in 2021 but closed it a year later when the landlord, The Duck Store, decided to knock down the building as part of a plan to redevelop the whole block. Toxic emerged stronger from the pandemic and opened Toxic Southtowne at 2866 Willamette in South Eugene (Woodfield Station shopping mall) in September 2022 and followed that quickly with Toxic Creswell at 285 E Oregon Ave in Creswell in November 2022.