About Dave’s Hot Chicken
In a modern-day American dream story, three childhood friends, Chef Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan and Tommy Rubenyan, scraped together $900 to launch Dave’s Hot Chicken in a parking lot, portable fryers and folding tables in tow, in 2017. Dave’s Hot Chicken quickly took off, opening an East Hollywood brick-and-mortar restaurant shortly after, with support from Tommy’s brother, Gary. In 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, Bill Phelps, to begin franchising the Dave’s Hot Chicken concept, with Billboard’s Artist of the Decade, Drake, investing in the brand as well. The company has sold the rights to more than 1,000 franchise locations in the U.S., Middle East, Europe and Canada and will open 150-plus 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.”