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Crispy Fried Chicken with French Fries

Source: GMVozd / Getty

The fastest-growing fast-casual restaurant in the United States isn’t what you think.

Rather than the average legacy chicken or burger spot, a new player has emerged in the country, and it’s Dave’s Hot Chicken. This Hollywood start-up began in a parking lot between best friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan.

“Dave’s Hot Chicken has one the greatest origin stories in the restaurant business, with the founders starting Dave’s as a parking lot pop-up restaurant in Hollywood with a portable fryer and picnic tables from their backyards just five short years ago,” said Bill Phelps, Dave’s Hot Chicken’s CEO.

The spot specializes in chicken sliders with kale coleslaw, tenders, and classic sides like french fries and macaroni and cheese. Things get fun when you get to pick your own sauce which ranges from no spice to the tongue-tingling and eye-watering reaper which you can try at your own risk.

Despite starting out in California, the brand has since expanded to Houston Texas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio, Nevada, and Oregon, but now the owners have their sights set on the Big Apple.

Dave’s Hot Chicken has inked a franchise agreement with Suhel Ahmed and Saurabh Desi to open up 20 new locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn over the next year.

Ahmed and Desi are hospitality industry talents who’ve got experience opening up restaurants in North Carolina and New York and recognize the major potential of the chicken joint.

“Dave’s Hot Chicken is special,” Saurabh told What Now NY. “Because their product is so much more differentiated than others in the chicken category. They simply rise above the competition.”

The brand isn’t just winning at creating great chicken sandwiches, but also winning over fans on social media, boasting over 31 million organic views on TikTok and the highest number of Instagram followers per franchise restaurant of any fast-casual brand.

Toronto-based rapper Drake has also realized the brand’s greatness and has become a major investor alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner.

Drake-Backed Dave’s Hot Chicken Is America’s Fastest Growing Restaurant  was originally published on cassiuslife.com