GoKawiilDave's Hot Chicken opens 500th restaurant in Phoenix
Dave's Hot Chicken opened its 500th location on October 8 in Phoenix, according to Food & Beverage Magazine. The chain started in 2017 when three friends launched it with $900 and portable fryers in an East Hollywood parking lot, later franchising with Wetzel's Pretzels co-founder Bill Phelps and selling a majority stake to private equity firm Roark Capital in 2025 at roughly a $1 billion valuation.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The rapid expansion, including opening eight restaurants in a single day in April and securing development rights for over 1,592 locations globally, suggests Dave's is pursuing aggressive international growth across Canada, the Middle East and Europe. Roark Capital's involvement, given its ownership of Subway, could point to a strategy of scaling the brand through franchising infrastructure similar to other fast-food empires the firm has backed.
- Dave's Hot Chicken opened its 500th location in Phoenix on October 8
- The chain grew from a $900 parking-lot startup in 2017 to a business valued at about $1 billion after Roark Capital's 2025 majority stake purchase
- Development rights have been sold for more than 1,592 locations worldwide, including a 180-restaurant deal across 10 European countries
Source: entrepreneur.com — Jonathan Small, 2026-10-14
Published there as: “Dave’s Hot Chicken Started With $900 in a Parking Lot. It Now Has 500 Restaurants.”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.