Celebrity-backed Dave’s Hot Chicken continues to scale nationwide.
The restaurant was created in 2017 by Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan. It offers customers tenders and sliders with flavor profiles ranging from mild to hot, extra hot, and reaper, alongside sides like fries, macaroni and cheese, and kale slaw, among others.
Dave’s Hot Chicken has received backing from notable names in entertainment. Former NFL player turned American television host and journalist Michael Strahan and Drake are investors.
“I tried the food and it was amazing. After meeting the founders and hearing their story, I jumped at the opportunity to invest,” Drake said, per Bloomberg.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Samuel L. Jackson is also backing the company.
“I never thought about going in the restaurant business, but I am an investor in Dave’s Hot Chicken,” Jackson said during an interview on “Sway In The Morning.”
Today, Dave’s Hot Chicken has scaled from a $900 investment of folding tables and a portable fryer in an East Hollywood, CA, parking lot to more than 200 locations, per its website.
Additionally, it has sold franchise rights for over 700 locations in the U.S. and Canada, Jacksonville Daily Record reported.
Most recently, the company plans to open its first Jacksonville, FL, location and build a 2,697-square-foot space that is projected to cost $250,000, per Jacksonville Daily Record.
Looking ahead, Dave’s Hot Chicken plans to open about 90 locations in 2024, with R&B singer Usher and Atlanta, GA, as part of the expansion plans. Usher plans to invest in several Atlanta, GA, locations in the near future, per USA Today.
“Dave’s Hot Chicken is some of the best hot chicken I’ve ever had. I’m excited to be involved with the brand and bring Dave’s delicious tenders and sliders to people across Atlanta,” Usher told USA Today.
