Claire Thompson
Dave's Hot Chicken is a fast-casual restaurant chain that began in Los Angeles, California, in 2017. The chain has since expanded to over 100 locations in four countries, including Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. In 2022, Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert, with additional locations in Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma. The restaurant offers a range of spice levels for its chicken tenders and sliders, with the hottest level requiring a waiver due to its extreme spice.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first restaurant in Arizona | 2022 |
| Locations in Arizona | Gilbert, Phoenix, Goodyear, Laveen, Tucson, Marana, Yuma |
| Number of restaurants in Arizona | 7 |
| Number of restaurants worldwide | 237 |
| Celebrity investors | Drake, Maria Shriver, Tom Werner, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Strahan |
| Number of spice levels | 7 |
| Waiver required | Reaper |
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What You'll Learn
- Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert in 2022
- The restaurant offers seven levels of heat, with the hottest requiring a waiver
- Celebrity investors include Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, and Maria Shriver
- Dave's Hot Chicken was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles by four friends
- The chain expanded to over 100 locations in four countries by mid-2022
Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert in 2022
Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert in October 2022. The fast-casual restaurant was founded in 2017 by Armenian-American friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy and Gary Rubenyan. The chain's namesake, Kopushyan, is a professional chef who created the restaurant's signature hot chicken recipe.
The original Dave's Hot Chicken was a small street food stand in a parking lot in East Hollywood, Los Angeles. Within a year, the restaurant's success allowed the owners to open their first brick-and-mortar location. By mid-2022, the chain had expanded to over 100 locations in four countries. The Gilbert restaurant marked Dave's Hot Chicken's first foray into Arizona, with subsequent locations opening in Phoenix, Goodyear, Laveen, Tucson, Marana, and Yuma.
The menu at Dave's Hot Chicken is simple yet enticing, offering chicken tenders and sliders with a range of heat levels to cater to different spice tolerances. Customers can choose from seven spice levels, from "no spice" for the faint of heart to "reaper" for those daring enough to handle the extreme heat, requiring a waiver due to its intensity. The tenders are served on white bread, while the sliders come on buns with pickles and house-made "kale slaw." All items are accompanied by Dave's special sauce and crinkle-cut fries, with optional add-ons like kale slaw, mac and cheese, or cheese fries.
The Arizona expansion of Dave's Hot Chicken was made possible by investments from celebrities such as Drake, Maria Shriver, Tom Werner, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Strahan. The chain's celebrity backers and delicious offerings have garnered a dedicated following, with plans to continue expanding and bringing their unique brand of hot chicken to more locations across Arizona and beyond.
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The restaurant offers seven levels of heat, with the hottest requiring a waiver
Dave's Hot Chicken is a fast-casual restaurant chain that serves Nashville-style hot chicken. The restaurant offers a simple menu with choices of chicken tenders, sliders, or both. 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.
The restaurant offers seven levels of heat for their chicken, ranging from mild to extremely spicy. The heat levels include no spice, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot, and reaper. The reaper spice level is the hottest option and is so hot that customers are required to sign a waiver before trying it. This level is likely suited for those who enjoy extremely spicy food and have a high tolerance for heat.
The restaurant chain was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles, California, by Armenian-American childhood friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan. The recipe for the chicken is credited to Kopushyan, a professional chef trained by renowned restaurateur Thomas Keller at the three-Michelin-star restaurant The French Laundry. The founders started with a small shop, consisting of a street food stand with a portable fryer and a few picnic tables.
Dave's Hot Chicken has since expanded rapidly, with over 100 locations in four countries by mid-2022. The chain opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert in October 2022 and has additional locations in Phoenix, Tucson, Marana, and Yuma. The restaurant has gained popularity due to investments from celebrities such as Drake, Maria Shriver, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Strahan.
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Celebrity investors include Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, and Maria Shriver
Dave's Hot Chicken is a fast-casual restaurant chain that began in 2017 as a small stand in an East Hollywood parking lot. The restaurant was started by best friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan. The recipe was developed by Kopushyan, who worked at Thomas Keller's French Laundry.
The chain has since expanded to over 100 locations in four countries by mid-2022, including the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The chain's first international location opened in Toronto, Ontario, in January 2021. In 2022, Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert, with subsequent locations in Phoenix, Gilbert, Laveen, Tucson, Marana, and Yuma. The chain plans to open a store in Goodyear in 2024.
Dave's Hot Chicken has gained widespread popularity, in part due to several celebrity investments in the company, including Drake, Maria Shriver, and Samuel L. Jackson. In 2019, an investor group that included these celebrities bought a stake in the company with plans to franchise the brand. Drake, a well-known rapper and entrepreneur, has a history of investing in successful businesses and has helped to promote and expand the Dave's Hot Chicken brand. Samuel L. Jackson, a renowned actor with a diverse portfolio of investments, has also contributed to the company's growth. Maria Shriver, a respected journalist and author, and a member of the Kennedy family, has brought not only her reputation but also her business acumen to the table.
In June 2025, Dave's Hot Chicken was acquired by the private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal valued at $1 billion. The acquisition is expected to fuel the company's expansion plans, with a focus on growth in Europe, Asia, and non-traditional locations domestically, such as airports and college campuses.
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Dave's Hot Chicken was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles by four friends
Dave's Hot Chicken was founded in 2017 in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, by four Armenian-American childhood friends: Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan. They started with a small street food stand in a parking lot, with a portable fryer, a few tables, and a limited menu. The original menu consisted of just one item: a hot chicken combo plate. The four friends pooled their savings, scraping together $900 to launch the business.
The idea for Dave's Hot Chicken came from Oganesyan, who pitched the concept of selling Nashville hot chicken to his friends Dave Kopushyan and Tommy Rubenyan. Dave Kopushyan, a professional chef trained by renowned restaurateur Thomas Keller at the three-Michelin-star restaurant The French Laundry, developed the chain's signature hot chicken recipe.
The restaurant's popularity grew substantially after it was featured on the food blog Eater Los Angeles. By late 2018, the stand was closed, and a brick-and-mortar restaurant was opened nearby on Western Avenue. The founders decorated the restaurant's walls with street art by local artists, a style that has become synonymous with the chain.
In 2021, the chain expanded rapidly, opening new locations across the United States and internationally. As of 2025, Dave's Hot Chicken has expanded to over 100 locations in four countries, including Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. The chain has also gained widespread popularity and attracted celebrity investors such as Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, Maria Shriver, Michael Strahan, and Tom Werner.
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The chain expanded to over 100 locations in four countries by mid-2022
Dave's Hot Chicken has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2017. The fast-casual restaurant chain, headquartered in Pasadena, California, was founded by Armenian-American childhood friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan. With just \$900, they set up a small shop in a parking lot in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, with a portable fryer and a few picnic tables. Kopushyan, a professional chef, developed the signature hot chicken recipe inspired by Thomas Keller's French Laundry, where he previously worked.
The chain quickly gained popularity, and by mid-2022, it had expanded to over 100 locations across four countries. This rapid growth can be attributed to heavy investments by celebrities such as Drake, Maria Shriver, Tom Werner, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Strahan. The simple menu, featuring Nashville-style hot chicken tenders, sliders, or both, with seven spice levels ranging from "no spice" to the extremely hot "reaper," has attracted a loyal customer base.
In 2021, the chain expanded into several new states, including Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas. The following year, in 2022, they continued their expansion into Wisconsin, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Florida, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma, Arizona, Idaho, and New Jersey. The first international location opened in Toronto, Canada, in January 2021, followed by Dubai in September 2022, and Doha, Qatar, in November 2022.
By 2024, Dave's Hot Chicken had become a prominent player in the fried chicken market, with 169 locations in the United States alone. The brand's aggressive expansion strategy continued, with plans to open 1,000 new restaurants, including 50 locations in the United Kingdom and potential entries into South Korea and other international markets. The chain's popularity was reflected in Yelp's ranking as the best fried chicken spot in Arizona in 2024.
Dave's Hot Chicken's success has not gone unnoticed, and in June 2025, the private equity firm Roark Capital acquired the company for $1 billion. This acquisition is a testament to the chain's rapid growth and widespread appeal, solidifying its place as a leading player in the competitive fried chicken industry.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Dave's Hot Chicken opened its first Arizona restaurant in Gilbert in October 2022.
Dave's Hot Chicken has locations in Phoenix, Goodyear, Gilbert, Laveen, Tucson, Marana, and Yuma.
Dave's Hot Chicken is an American fast-casual restaurant chain that serves Nashville-style hot chicken.
The restaurant offers seven levels of heat ranging from "no spice" to "reaper," which requires a waiver to be signed due to its extreme heat.
The menu includes tenders, sliders, milkshakes, and Dave's Frozen Slushers. Sides include French fries, cheese fries, macaroni and cheese, and kale slaw.
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