Dave's Hot Chicken

Last updated

Dave's Hot Chicken
Company typePrivately held company
Industry Restaurants
Genre Fast casual
FoundedMay 2, 2017;7 years ago (May 2, 2017)
Los Angeles, California
FoundersDave Kopushyan
Arman Oganesyan
Tommy Rubenyan
Gary Rubenyan
Headquarters
Pasadena, California
Number of locations
200 (September, 13, 2024)
Area served
 United States
Canada
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Key people
Bill Phelps (CEO)
Products Hot Chicken, French fries, Mac and Cheese, coleslaw, milkshakes
Website www.daveshotchicken.com

Dave's Hot Chicken is an American fast casual restaurant chain specializing in Nashville-style hot chicken.

Contents

Founded in Los Angeles, California, with a single restaurant in 2017, the chain had expanded to over 100 locations in four countries in 2022. [1] [2] [3]

Dave's Hot Chicken is headquartered in Pasadena, California. [4]

History

Early history

Dave's Hot Chicken location in Anaheim, California Dave's Hot Chicken Anaheim, CA.jpg
Dave's Hot Chicken location in Anaheim, California

The first Dave's Hot Chicken was opened in May 2017 by Armenian-American childhood friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan and Gary Rubenyan. [5] [2] [6] They were inspired by the no frills approach of In N Out Burger as well as the growing demand for fried chicken in Los Angeles. [7] Kopushyan – the chain's namesake – was a professional chef trained by restaurateur Thomas Keller at three-Michelin-star restaurant The French Laundry. [2] [8] Drawing from this experience, Kopushyan developed the chain's signature hot chicken recipe. [2] The four friends scraped together $900 to set up a small shop.

The original location consisted of nothing more than a small street food stand with a portable fryer, a few picnic tables, and a limited menu, and was located in a parking lot in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Initially the stand sold only one item: a hot chicken combo plate. [2]

Following a feature on the food blog Eater Los Angeles the stand's popularity grew substantially, with lines that reportedly at times stretched an entire block. [2]

By late 2018, the stand was closed and a restaurant was opened in a nearby strip mall on Western Avenue. [2] The restaurant's walls were decorated with street art by local artists, a style that has become a recognizable feature of the chain.[ citation needed ]

Franchising and domestic expansion

In fall 2019, the founders formed an agreement with an investment group including former Wetzel's Pretzels CEO and co-founder Bill Phelps as well as movie producer John Davis to franchise the restaurant. [1] [6] The deal made plans for more than 300 locations in the United States and Canada. [1] The deal saw Phelps named as the chain's new CEO. [1]

Within California

In winter 2019, the chain opened 2nd and 3rd locations in Los Angeles' North Hollywood and Koreatown neighborhoods. [6]

In late 2020 and early 2021 the chain expanded into Orange County with stores in Anaheim, Orange, Irvine and Tustin, with plans to open 4 more in the county by the end of the year. [9]

In 2021, the chain expanded to the Bay Area with stores in Santa Rosa and Union City. [10] The next year the chain added stores in Oakland, Sunnyvale and San Leandro. [10]

Outside California

In 2021, the chain opened upwards of 30 new locations and expanded into Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas. [11] [12] In 2022, the chain expanded into Wisconsin, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma, Arizona, Idaho, and New Jersey.[ citation needed ] In January 2023, the chain expanded into Nebraska, opening a single store in Omaha; as well as Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[ citation needed ] A Seattle location was opened in 2023, the chain also opened its first Pennsylvania location in 2023. [13] In August 2024, the chain opened its first Georgia location, in Conyers, as well as its first Vermont location, in South Burlington. The franchise in that state is owned by Lawrence Kourie, Andrew Feghali, and Usher. The grand opening featured free food and music, though Usher himself was not in attendance. [14]

International expansion

Canada

The chain's first international location opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in January 2021. [15]

United Arab Emirates

In September 2022, Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Middle Eastern location in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai. [3] The chain has agreements to open further stores in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. [3]

Qatar

In November 2022, Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Qatar location, in Doha.[ citation needed ]

Saudi Arabia

On July 20, 2023, the chain came to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. [16]

United Kingdom

On 4th November 2024 Dave's Hot Chicken announced through their Instagram page that they would be opening a location in London, UK in the next month. In July 2024 they signed a deal with Zizzi operator Azzurri Group to open 60 restaurants in the UK, with the first of its restaurants due to launch early 2025. [17]

Notable investors

Dave's Hot Chicken has a number of celebrity investors including rapper and actor Drake, actor Samuel L. Jackson, former First Lady of California Maria Shriver, athlete and TV personality Michael Strahan and Boston Red Sox owner Tom Werner. [1] [18] [19]

2 slider combo from Dave's Hot Chicken Chicken slider combo from Dave's Hot Chicken.jpg
2 slider combo from Dave's Hot Chicken

The chain's menu is simple, consisting only of 4 choices of hot chicken tenders, sliders or both. [18] [20] Tenders are served on white bread, while sliders are served on buns with pickles, house-made "kale slaw" and a chipotle mayo sauce known as Dave's Sauce. [18] [20] Customers are offered the choice of seven different spice levels for their chicken, ranging from "no spice" to "reaper" (which requires the customer to sign a waiver). [18] [20] Sides include french fries, cheese fries, macaroni and cheese and "kale slaw." [18] The sandwiches are also available with chicken [21] and a kale slaw which is combination of chicken and healthful vegetables. [22] All locations serve halal chicken. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFC</span> American fast food restaurant chain

KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC, is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald's, with over 30,000 locations globally in 150 countries as of April 2024. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taco Bell</span> American fast-food chain

Taco Bell Corp. is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, novelty, and speciality items, and a variety of "value menu" items. As of 2023, Taco Bell serves over two billion customers each year, at 8,212 restaurants, more than 94 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees and licensees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Hortons</span> Multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain

Tim Hortons Inc., known colloquially as Tim's, Timmies, or Timmy's, is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain with headquarters in Toronto; it serves coffee, donuts, sandwiches, breakfast egg muffins and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service restaurant chain, with 5,701 restaurants in 13 countries, as of September 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nando's</span> South African flame-grilled chicken chain

Nando's is a South African multinational fast casual chain that specialises in Portuguese flame-grilled peri-peri style chicken. Founded in Johannesburg in 1987, Nando's operates over 1,200 outlets in 30 countries. Their logo depicts the Rooster of Barcelos, one of Portugal's most common symbols. The company was wholly owned by Dick Enthoven until his death in 2022, and is now owned by the family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jollibee</span> Filipino fast food restaurant chain

Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) which serves as its flagship brand. Established in 1978 by Tony Tan Caktiong, it is the Philippines' top fast food restaurant and is among the world's fastest growing restaurants, expanding its international presence from 2014 to 2024 almost sixfold. As of January 2024, there were over 1,668 Jollibee fast-food branches across 17 countries, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, North America, and Europe. Jollibee is best known for its bestselling item, the Chickenjoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dairy Queen</span> American multinational fast food chain

Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American multinational fast food chain founded in 1940 and currently headquartered in Bloomington, Minnesota. The first Dairy Queen was owned and operated by Sherb Noble and first opened on June 22, 1940, in Joliet, Illinois. It serves a variety of hot and fried food, as well as original frozen dairy products that vary from location to location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chick-fil-A</span> American fast food restaurant chain

Chick-fil-A, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A operates 3,059 restaurants across 48 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The company also has operations in Canada, and previously had restaurants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The restaurant has a breakfast menu, as well as a lunch and dinner menu. The chain also provides catering services. Chick-fil-A calls its specialty the "original chicken sandwich". It is a piece of deep-fried breaded boneless chicken breast served on a toasted bun with two slices of dill pickle, or with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popeyes</span> American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken restaurants founded in 1972 in New Orleans and headquartered in Miami. It is currently a subsidiary of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International. As of 2021, Popeyes has 3,705 restaurants, which are located in more than 46 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 30 countries worldwide. About 50 locations are company-owned; the other ~98% are franchised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers</span> American restaurant chain

Raising Restaurants, LLC, doing business as Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers is an American fast casual chain specializing in chicken fingers founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Todd Graves and Craig Silvey. The company is named after Graves's dog, a yellow Labrador. Other yellow Labradors have served as company mascots, as well as certified therapy animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bojangles (restaurant)</span> American regional fast food chain

Bojangles OpCo, LLC., doing business as Bojangles, is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants that specializes in Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits and primarily serves the Southeastern United States. The company was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Rogers Roasters</span> Chicken-based restaurant chain

Kenny Rogers Roasters is a chain of chicken-based restaurants founded in 1991 by country musician Kenny Rogers and former KFC CEO John Y. Brown Jr., who was a former governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Brown had been an early investor in Kentucky Fried Chicken from 1964 to 1971. During his successful music career, Rogers had appeared in several commercials for the Dole Food Company before founding this restaurant chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albaik</span> Saudi fast-food restaurant chain

AlBaik is a Saudi fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that primarily sells broasted and fried chicken with a variety of sauces. It is the largest restaurant chain in Saudi Arabia. Albaik currently has a trade name in 80 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shake Shack</span> American fast casual burger restaurant

Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk within the park, expanding its menu from New York–style hot dogs to one with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and its namesake milkshakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barberton chicken</span> Serbian-American fried chicken dish

Barberton chicken, also known as Serbian fried chicken, is a style of fried chicken native to the city of Barberton in Summit County, Ohio. It is a distinctive Serbian-American style served in several mainly Serbian-owned restaurants in Barberton and nearby Norton and increasingly in other surrounding communities. The style of chicken has given the town national recognition, with some proclaiming Barberton to be the "Chicken Capital of the World" or the "Fried Chicken Capital of America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dixie Lee Fried Chicken</span> Canadian fast-food restaurant

Dixie Lee is a regional franchised fried chicken fast-food restaurant founded in Belleville, Ontario in 1964 by Ramon Leon and Douglas Walmsley. The company is currently based in Kingston and Bruce Mines, Ontario. Its largest group of franchise operators is Dixie Lee Maritimes, a New Brunswick-based company with 38 locations in three provinces. The parent organization is the direct franchisor of ten restaurants in various Ontario locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cook Out (restaurant)</span> American quick service chain

Cook Out is a privately owned American fast-food restaurant chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Mississippi. Founded in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989, the chain has since expanded and now has restaurants in over 100 cities. The chain itself has grown in size with many locations now spread throughout the Southeastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy's</span> American international fast food chain

Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following McDonald’s and Burger King. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc Companies Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Arby's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord of the Fries</span> Vegan fast food chain

Lord of the Fries is an Australian and New Zealand casual dining fast food chain. It was originally based in Melbourne, before expanding into other regions. It serves only vegan dishes including loaded fries, veggie burgers, hot dogs and a number of various sides and breakfast items. Due to the menu consisting entirely of plant-based products, all meals from the chain are Kosher and Halal. The restaurants became 100% vegan in 2018. The founders are vegan as are most of the franchisees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baes Fried Chicken</span> Restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Baes Fried Chicken, or Baes Chicken, is a fried chicken restaurant with three locations in Portland, Oregon. The original restaurant opened in Old Town Chinatown in November 2019. Outposts opened in southeast Portland's Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood in July 2020, and on Alberta Street in northeast Portland's Concordia neighborhood in January 2023. Baes has also been a vendor at the Moda Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katsu Burger</span> Restaurant chain in the U.S. state of Washington

Katsu Burger is a Japanese-themed burger restaurant chain in the Seattle metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Washington.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dave's Hot Chicken Named America's Fastest-Growing Restaurant | RestaurantNews.com". May 13, 2022. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "About Us – The History of Dave's Hot Chicken | DAVE'S HOT CHICKEN". DAVE'S HOT CHICKEN. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Charlesworth, Louise (September 19, 2022). "First look: the hottest fried chicken in LA is now here in Dubai". Time Out Dubai. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Dave's Hot Chicken Cooks Up Growth and Expansion in 2023 – Pasadena Now". pasadenanow.com. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Our Story". Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 "Dave's Hot Chicken wins major investment to launch franchising". Nation's Restaurant News. September 26, 2019. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ Louise Charlesworth (September 19, 2022). "First look: the hottest fried chicken in LA is now here in Dubai". Time Out Dubai. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ Anooshahr, Bahar. "Drake's in the hot chicken business? This celebrity-owned restaurant is opening in Arizona". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  9. ↑ "LA cult favorite Dave's Hot Chicken is bringing new shops to south OC". Orange County Register. October 2, 2020. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Madrigal-Yankowski, Nico (May 29, 2022). "Hot chicken shack backed by Drake to open three new Bay Area locations". SFGATE. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Dave's Hot Chicken Plans 30 Openings for 2021". QSR magazine. January 14, 2021. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ Rinella, Heidi Knapp (December 28, 2021). "Another hot chicken venture to open Friday on the Strip". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on October 16, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  13. ↑ Cheadle, Harry (August 11, 2023). "Dave's Hot Chicken Is Planning a Capitol Hill Location". Eater Seattle. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ Perkins, Erin (September 3, 2024). "R&B Superstar Usher Brings Dave's Hot Chicken to Georgia". Eater Atlanta. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Canada's first Dave's Hot Chicken opens in Toronto | Dished". dailyhive.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ "Dave's Hot Chicken secures first UK site" . Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dave's Hot Chicken Menu – Hot Chicken Tenders, Sliders & More | DAVE'S HOT CHICKEN". DAVE'S HOT CHICKEN. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Drake Invests in Dave's Hot Chicken Restaurant Chain". HYPEBEAST. September 20, 2021. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  20. 1 2 3 "We Tried The Reaper At Dave's Hot Chicken And It's No Joke". Delish. August 19, 2022. Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Dave's Hot Chicken Sandwich Recipe - CEO Chicken". January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Dave's Hot Chicken Coleslaw Recipe - CEO Chicken". January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  23. ↑ "A Celeb-Approved L.A. Hot Chicken Chain Makes Its Houston Debut This Week". September 22, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.