A Los Angeles Hot Chicken Sensation Is Opening Its First NYC Outpost

It was only a matter of time, but Nashville hot chicken sensation Dave’s Hot Chicken is touching down in Midtown next week. The Nashville hot chicken chain, one of the fastest-growing restaurants in the country, is opening its first New York outpost at 944 8th Avenue, near 56th Street, on August 19.

The menu will be the same as the restaurant’s other locations, an employee at the new shop confirms to Eater, meaning tenders and hot chicken sandwiches at varying heat levels — “No Spice” to “Reaper” — are on the way. Doors open to the public at 10:30 a.m., and Drake, an investor in the business, is rumored to be making an appearance sometime on opening day, the employee says.

The arrival of Dave’s marks the beginning of larger expansion plans in the tri-state area. The company previously committed to opening 20 locations of the hot chicken brand in the five boroughs, plus another 14 outposts in New Jersey. “As we continue to make waves with our expansion across the United States, it was a logical choice to make our entrance into the Big Apple,” Bill Phelps, CEO of Dave’s Hot Chicken, told QSR in February.

It’s a big step for New York’s hot chicken scene, which has long been anchored by Peaches HotHouse in Bed-Stuy. Newer businesses, including Korean chicken spot Chick Chick; Flo’s Hot Chicken, which only serves white meat; and Cayenne, a delivery restaurant backed by chef Hillary Sterling have helped beef up the scene, but it’s small compared to the hot chicken takeover that’s unfolded in Los Angeles in recent years.

Could Dave’s, a franchise backed by celebrity investors Drake and Samuel L. Jackson, help fan the flames?

The hot chicken chain from founders Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan got its start as a pop-up in a Los Angeles parking lot in 2017, following up with a brick-and-mortar outpost nine months later. The team signed a franchise deal to take the brand national in 2019 and currently has over 700 locations in the pipeline for the United States and Canada.

Dave’s Hot Chicken will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.