On March 24, Dave’s Hot Chicken, a scrappy late-night pop-up turned hot chicken sensation, opened its newest restaurant on Mooney Boulevard. It will be open Sunday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. midnight. Dave’s Hot Chicken’s newest restaurant features plentiful seating, a drive-thru and custom artwork throughout the restaurant inspired by the local area.
“Dave’s Hot Chicken instantly stood out to us from the other chicken concepts that are out there,” franchisee Martha Olmos said. “They have a great innovative product that people love and continue to crave long after they first tried it.”
Dave’s will be located at 3301 south Mooney Blvd., in the Sequoia Mall Center in the old Mainland building, across the parking lot from Hobby Lobby. Olmos said she is excited for the revival of the Sequoia Mall Center. She said she remembers shopping at Mervyn’s and how the mall was several years ago. Because of that, she is excited to be a part of what brings life back into the mall. However, as far as sharing a parking lot with another popular chicken restaurant, Raising Canes, Olmos said they are not worried.
“I think there is an appetite for everybody,” Olmos said. “It’s just a question of taste. Our chicken is a little different, [because] we do a Nashville style hot chicken.”
Dave’s Hot Chicken specializes in hot chicken tenders and sliders, along with sides of house-made kale slaw, creamy mac n’ cheese and crispy french fries. Offered at seven spice levels ranging from no spice to “reaper.” The reaper level claims to be so hot it requires a signed waiver for those who dare to try.
Each piece of hand-breaded chicken is spiced to order, using a spice blend crafted specifically for its heat level or no-spice. According to Olmos, the chicken is raised specifically for Dave’s and is halal, meaning humanely killed. She said having the chicken raised specifically for Dave’s allows the tenders to be larger and more juicy.
“It’s just probably the best tasting chicken I’ve ever had, and that’s just being honest,” Olmos said. “That’s one of the reasons that we became franchisees.”
Olmos said the quality of the chicken was one of the things that drew her to the franchise, in addition to the home grown story. Growing up in the Central Valley, Olmos said she knew what it is like to start a small business and grow, especially being in the restaurant business for over 30 years. The brand began a few years ago as a parking lot pop-up and drew lines around the block, with rave reviews by its fanatic Instagram followers.
In a modern-day American dream story, Arman Oganesyan and best friend chef Dave Kopushyan, along with brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan, launched Dave’s Hot Chicken in a parking lot pop-up in 2017.
Dave’s Hot Chicken quickly took off, opening its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in East Hollywood. In 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, Bill Phelps, and movie producer John Davis to begin franchising the Dave’s Hot Chicken concept throughout the U.S. and beyond.
“Dave’s Hot Chicken will blow your mind! Every Tender is hot, juicy and spicy,” Bill Phelps, Dave’s Hot Chicken’s CEO said in a press release. “Our founders started Dave’s as a parking lot pop-up restaurant in Hollywood with a portable fryer and picnic tables from their backyards nearly six short years ago.”
The company has sold the rights to more than 700 franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada and will open an additional 60 locations this year. Harkening back to an Eater LA blog that helped propel early interest in the brand, the company’s mission is to “blow their minds.” Additional brand investors include Billboard’s Artist of the Decade, Drake, former California First Lady Maria Shriver, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and Good Morning America anchor and retired NFL player Michael Strahan.
“Our team is looking forward to the future with Dave’s Hot Chicken, and we believe strongly in becoming part of the fabric of the community and plan on supporting local nonprofits,” Olmos said.
