BHON History Page

	28th Anniversary · 1996 - 2024

BHON History

It was a fateful thursday night back in September of 1996 when a group of former co-workers from the IT department at the Welland County Separate School Board decided to get together for some beer and wings. The night was an impromptu bitch-session; an evening to co-miserate on the day's events, trials and tribulations - not unlike that of many sitting around the bar that night. A decade later, who would have thought that moment would be the beginning of a long journey to find "The tastiest wings in the Niagara Region".

The original group consisted of five members; Rick, Chris, Lilly, Mike B and Steve. The very first BHON meeting took place at Rickijo's on the corner of Welland Ave and Bunting Road in St. Catharines. Amid the cigarette smoke and annoyingly loud dance music, the group enjoyed the first "wing-night" of what would become a bi-weekly tradition.

It didn't take long for the group to grow. Through word-of-mouth, curious new members tagged along, invited by existing member's friends and their co-workers. Within months it was known thoughout the Board that 'these guys' were becoming the ones 'in the know' when it came to choosing a place to go for wings.

Originally, these "wing-nights" were arranged verbally. As the group grew, phone calls and email became cumbersome and a new way of communicating became necessary. In November of 1996, the first 'Chicken Wing Web Page' was born. Hosted on Mike B's dial-up account, its primary purpose was to give the location for the next meeting so that everyone would know where to go. The orignal website was pretty plain by today's standards, and was never intended for public consumption...in fact Mike whipped it up in Notepad in about 2 minutes. Soon after the website was launched, the group decided on an official name: The Bar Hoppers of Niagara - BHON.

By December of 1996 it was clear that people were really interested in what BHON was doing. A common question for any BHON Member was - "Hey, how are the wings at such-and-such?". Since this was becoming a common occurance, the group figured why not use the webpage to post reviews of the places they'd visited. The rest is history....

So here were are ten years later. Rickijo's still stands on the corner of Welland and Bunting, which is quite an accomplishment when you consider the number of establishments that have come and gone during our tenure. Cigarette smoking in bars in Ontario is a thing of the past. Gas prices have doubled and oddly enough there's still a war going on in Iraq. 9/11 is no longer just a random date, and we haven't made many trips to Gagster's recently although the Canadian dollar is doing better than it has in decades. It also seems that the 20 dollars everyone used to throw in at the end of the night doesn't go quite as far as it used to anymore!

Unlike 1996, the Internet is now a household utility, and the BHON web site logged an astounding 227,591 hits in 2005 - from over 30 different countries. (Although we suspect most of those people were just looking for porn.) We are proud to say we make ZERO profit from our site and our reviews. We have no commercial affiliations or sponsorships. Our goal and our purpose remain true to ourselves - to go out and have a good time with our friends, enjoy a few beers and sample the wings from the many fine pubs and bars across the Region.

Over the years, many, many people have played a part in BHON. Some faces have come and some have gone as the dynamics of the group evolved over the past decade. BHON has seen its share of births and deaths, marriages and divorces and has been there to provide support through many a member's personal and professional triumphs and tragedies. Although times and faces change, the core of the group and its mission remain unchanged - To find "The Tastiest Wings in the Niagara Region".

Last Updated: Sept 2006 - MG

Significant Dates

Note: The following dates were simply pulled outta my
astounging memory, may not be 100% accurate.
You'll also note that the entire BHON page is Y2000 compliant.

Date	Event
Sep 1996	First Meeting! Ricki Jo's Rick, Chris, MikeB, Lilly, Steve!
Oct 1996	Meetings were arranged via e-mail! No web Page! Jim Joins!
Nov 1996	The wing web page is created!
Dec 1996	The name 'Bar Hoppers of Niagara - BHON' is officially adopted by the group!
Dec 1996	1st BHON Christmas party! Beer + Wings!
Jan 1997	1st BHON New Years party! Beer + Wings!
Feb 1997	Membership growing, up to 8 members!
Mar 1997	Uhhhh,,,, It's all a blur!
Apr 1997	Easter! Beer + Wings!
May 1997	New members! Patrick, that other guy!
Jun 1997	New members! from the "Other Board"!
Jul 1997	Summer hiatus! Beer and Wings!
Aug 1997	1st BHON golf outing, then BEER + Wings!
Sep 1997	1st BHON Anniversary! Beer + Wings!
Oct 1997	BHON Halloween! Beer + Wings!
Nov 1997	New Members Brian, Lance Link (Not the famed monkey)!
Nov 1997	BHON goes international! Gagster's, N.F. New york.!
Dec 1997	2nd Annual BHON Christmas party! Beer and Wings!
Jan 1998	1st BHON New Years party! Beer + Wings!
Jan 1998	New Member! Michelle!
Feb 1998	New Members Lisa, XENA!
Mar 1998	New Members Sherry, Derek!
Apr 1998	Xena! Full BHON Member!
Apr 1998	International Expansion! Welcome Michelle as new Prez of BHOL (Bar Hoppers Of London)!
May 1998	Record! Worst wing place ever reviewed! Read about the Schnitzel incident.
Jun 1998	Derek! Full BHON Member!
Jun 1998	Sandy! Full BHON Member!
Jul 1998	Toronto Wingolympics 98!
Jul 1998	Ron! Full BHON Member!
Jul 1998	Complete month with no sidewalk incidents!
Aug 1998	BHOT (Bar Hoppers Of Tomorrow) Charter group formed!
Sep 1998	First Official BHON Wedding!
Sep 1998	2nd BHON Anniversary! Beer + Wings!
Oct 1998	Andrew! Full BHON Member!
Oct 1998	Largest ever slide in ratings for Tricky Nick's! 60%!
Nov-Dec 1998	Ahhhhhhh.!
Jan 1999	EVFL measurement coined.!
Feb 1999	Biggest Wings ever recorded!Mick and Angelo's!
Mar 1999	First BHON associate member to lose their status for poor attendance! Booo Lisa and Lana!
Apr 1999	Highest score ever awarded 96%! Congratulations Arizona's!
May 1999	First BHON meeting in Fonthill.!
Jun 1999	Susan! Full BHON Member!
Jul 1999	Highest score ever awarded 96.5%! Congratulations Daily Planet!
Aug 1999	Nothing to report about Mr. X.
Sep 1999	3rd BHON Anniversary! Beer + Wings!
Oct 1999	Halloween! I gave out Beer + Wings! Parents were pissed.!
Nov 1999	Can't recall, something about wings and beer.!
Dec 1999	BHON New Years Eve Party!
Jan 2000	The voluntary "No talking about" ban lifted!
Jan 2000	First BHON outing of the century at Bugsy's!
Feb 2000	Trivia contest launched!
Feb 2000	Xena demoted to associate member for poor attendance! Booo Xena!
Mar 2000	Trivia contest dropped!
Apr 2000	Eh, errr, um.....PBBBTTT!
May 2000	Sue's first BHON House Party! Sorry about the mess, poor dog.!
May 2000	Bhon End of School Party at Robin's. No bloodshed!
Jun 2000	End of School! Beer and Wings for All!
Jul 2000	A wingless Comdex, and another Spaghetti incident! No it was steak!
Aug 2000	A new sporting event! Olympic Cell Phone Toss!
Sep 2000	4th BHON Anniversary! Wings + Beer + more Wings + more beer!
Oct 2000	Mary Kate! Our newest BHOT Member!
Nov 2000	The torch is passed! Mike B steps down as Prez and Mike G steps up (NOT!). Derek retains Vice CIO title.!
Dec 2000	New section! Wings across America, courtesy of the new Minister of Free Trade/Executive, Mike B.!
Dec 2000	Mr. Y (Not Mr. X) decides to fuck off, Come back Mr. Y!
Dec 2000	Kevin! Full BHON Member!
Dec 2000	Most Expensive Wing Night ever award goes to Boston Pizza!
Dec 2000	2nd Annual BHON New Year's at Vaxxine!
Jan 2001	Derek buys a house and finally moves out of Welland! Yay Derek! BHON moving party!
Feb 2001	BHON goes official! The bhon.net domain is launched!
Mar 2001	First ever BHON walkout...Several members actually got up and left a wing establishment in protest when Mr. J-W. arrived!
Apr 2001	First BHON Divorce! Congratulations Andrew!
Apr 2001	BHON Bush Watch 2001 Section Launched!
May 2001	Toronto Maple Leafs lose again! Beer+Wings!
Jun 2001	BHON Memorial! Duncan McNaughton
Jun 2001	New BHON character! Supriso the Clown!
Jul 2001	Another BHON Canada Day! Beer? Go figure!
Aug 2001	3 WAA reviews this month! A new 1 month record!
Aug 2001	Another BHON Labour Day Party!
Sep 2001	BHON 5th Anniversary at RickiJo's!
Sep 2001	BHON Forums go Online!
Sep 2001	John - Full BHON Member!
Oct 2001	BHON Brewery Tour at Taylor and Bates!
Oct 2001	Taylor and Bates goes out of business...Doh!
Nov 2001	The Big Cock has been retired! See it and other old jokes in the Jokes section!
Dec 2001	Happy Tokemas! The legendary Monkey Toke visited my house, did he visit yours?!
Jan 2002	Can-Am wing night! Mike does wing nights in Canada and USA - in one night
Feb 2002	BHON.NET Web Poll Official Kick-Off!
Mar 2002	First Official BHON 'Madness' (March Madness) Report! Beer + Wings!
Apr 2002	First Ultra-Infini-Banned for Life rating (Rick)!
May 2002	Second Ultra-Infini-Banned for Life rating (Chris)!
Jun 2002	The 'incident' - never to be spoken about again. Ever.
Jul 2002	It's Summer Time - Shut The Fuck Up!
Aug 2002	Party at Mikes - Sue and Lilly show up - same night! Single woman doesn't get hit on!
Sep 2002	BHON 6th Anniversary at RickiJo's!
Oct 2002	BHON Offends some of its members! GASP! Politically Correct BHON is launched in response!
Nov 2002	Politically Correct BHON discontinued - "Cuz it's GAY!"
Nov 2002	First BHON S.M.Y.T + S.T.F.U. Night at Cheers!
Nov 2002	First Annual Niagara Hops and Wing Ding!
Nov 2002	Pinty's Wing Plant Tour!
Nov 2002	BHON Goes to Hooters! Heh Heh...Pbbbbt~!
Dec 2002	BHON Page gets a New Look for 2003!
Jan 2003	First ever Special Request BHON Re-review - Lazy Lizard!
Feb 2003	First ever BHON Awards - Congrats to the Winners!
Mar 2003	New Member! Welcome Dex!
Mar 2003	Rick Retires! - We celebrate with Wings and Beer! YAY Rick!
Apr 2003	New Member! Welcome Kevin 2.0 SP1!
Apr 2003	BHON Announces SARS Alert!!! Don't forget your masks! :)
May 2003	National Masturbation Month Begins! Wax-On Wax-Off!
Jun 2003	The Leafs SUCK for yet another year!
Jun 2003	Wheel of Wings Returns!
Jul 2003	Histoire Noire returns home as Drek takes over!
Jul 2003	BHON Patio Night at Mike G's!
Aug 2003	First ever BHON Night at Johnny Z's!
Aug 2003	The Great Northeastern Blackout of 2003 Hits BHON! Better drink all the beer in the fridge before it gets warm!
Sep 2003	Derek finally gets some siding on his house! Johnny Z decides to move anyways!
Sep 2003	BHON 7th Anniversary at RickiJo's!
Oct 2003	BHON attends a pre-grand opening of the new Niagara HOOTERS!!!
Nov 2003	Award for Biggest slide of the year to Lazy Lizard - 34%!!!!
Dec 2003	Derek's siding still not done! Johnny Z laughs from Port Colborne!
Dec 2003	BHON X-Mas at Hooter's - WOO HOO!!!
Jan 2004	First BHON of 2004 at Cats Caboose!
Mar 2004	BHON Goes back to Hooters Again! - WOO HOO!
May 2004	Kevin 2.0 Gets Married - Poor Bastard!
Jun 2004	BHON attends Miss Hooters Niagara 2004 Bikini Contest!
Aug 2004	BHON Summer of 2004 - It's all a Blur!!! Bet there was beer + wings!
Sep 2004	BHON 8th Anniversary! Where? At Ricki-Jo's of Course!!!!
Sep 2004	Johnny Z's car gets totalled in front of Kevin's House! - BANG!
Oct 2004	NHL Strike - NO HOCKEY SEASON THIS YEAR!!! BHON Mourns!
Oct 2004	Team America Comes to Theaters - Dirka Dirka Mohammed Jihad!!
Oct 2004	Derek J Moves to Fort Erie - Ugh another BHON moving party!
Dec 2004	BHON Movie Night at Vaxxine - Dirka Dirka, Wings and Beer!
Jan 2005	Another New Year for Wings and Beer
Feb 2005	Patrick Moves to Fonthill - What was he thinking??? Beer and Wings!
Mar 2005	The Best Wings found to date!!!! Taste of the Caribbean Takes Top Honours!!!
May 2005	Team America DVD is released - Time for Another Movie Night + Wings and Beer!
Jul 2005	BHON Pub Crawl - Downtown St. Catharines!
Sep 2005	BHON 9th Anniversary - New Location - Taste of the Caribbean!!!
Sep 2005	First ever Honourary Top Cock award given - Andrew Obee!
Oct 2005	NHL Hockey Returns! Yay!
Nov 2005	BHON Attends Miss Hoosters Niagara Pageant 2005!
Nov 2005	Taste of the Caribbean closes. BHON Mourns again!
Dec 2005	BHON Year end Movie Night at Vaxxine. Wings and Beer!
Jan 2006	The Start of another New Year of Beer and Wings!
Feb 2006	BHON Looks for a sucessor to Taste of the Caribbean - Wacky Wings! Still haven't found one!
Mar 2006	First BHON Pub Crawl of 2006 - Downtown St. Catharines!
Mar 2006	Second Ever Top Cock Award given - Mike B!
Apr 2006	First BHON Movie Night of 2006 - Eddie Murphy Revival!!!
May 2006	Victoria Day BBQ at Mike B's - We freeze our asses off!!!
May 2006	Patrick announces his move to Quebec - He is separating!
Jun 2006	Mike G's first BHON of 2006 - And it didn't rain!! LOL!!!
Sep 2006	BHON 10th Anniversary!!!
Oct 2006	BHON Fall Pub Crawl - Downtown St. Catharines

BHON History

Significant Dates

Date

Event