Dave's Hot Chicken Opens 500th Restaurant Location
Dave's Hot Chicken, which began with $900 in a parking lot in 2017, has opened its 500th restaurant in Phoenix.
Dave's Hot Chicken has opened its 500th restaurant location in Phoenix, Arizona, on October 8. The chain, which was launched in 2017 by three childhood friends with $900, portable fryers, and folding tables in an East Hollywood parking lot, has seen significant growth.
The company's expansion accelerated when Bill Phelps, co-founder of Wetzel's Pretzels, joined in 2019 to franchise the concept. In 2025, private equity firm Roark Capital, which also owns Subway, acquired a majority stake in Dave's Hot Chicken at a valuation of approximately $1 billion.
The pace of development has not slowed. In April, Dave's opened a record eight restaurants in a single day. The brand now operates in Canada, the Middle East, and London, with a 180-restaurant deal covering 10 European countries and development rights sold for over 1,592 locations worldwide.
"We weren't thinking about hundreds of restaurants," said co-founder Arman Oganesyan. "We were focused on making the best hot chicken we could and getting people to try it."