One of the most popular and fastest-growing chicken chains in America has its eyes set on Turlock, as the Journal learned Tuesday that Dave’s Hot Chicken has submitted an application to expand into the Monte Vista Crossings Shopping Center.
Dave’s Hot Chicken plans to occupy the space at 2741 Countryside Dr., which formerly housed a T-Mobile store. The space shares the 9,740 square-foot building with Deli Delicious, Sports Clips, Crumbl Cookies, Mango Crazy and Infinity Nail Spa. To its left is a Buffalo Wild Wings and a Habit Burger.
A timeframe for when the project could get approval, when renovation may begin or when the restaurant could open remains unclear, and attempts to reach Dave’s Hot Chicken on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Earlier this week, the company began promoting a pair of managerial positions for the planned Turlock location on online job boards such as Indeed, Glassdoor and Workstream — one for a store manager and another for an assistant manager.
Dave’s Hot Chicken offers a simple selection of seasoned fried chicken tenders, as well as chicken sandwiches. It is described as “Nashville-style” hot chicken, with seven spice levels available.
The Dave’s brand is largely recognizable from its logo, which features a screaming chicken, similar to the toy rubber chickens that are sold at stores. They have a huge presence on social media, racking up 1.9 million followers on Instagram and another 89,000 on Facebook.
Prior to becoming a viral sensation, Dave’s Hot Chicken had humble beginnings.
The restaurant began as a pop-up cart in an East Los Angeles parking lot in 2017, after lifelong friends Tommy and Gary Rubenyan, Arman Oganeshyan and Dave Kopushyan scraped together $900 and invested it all towards the project. After rave reviews from curious residents and a promotional push on Instagram, the friends saw their chicken stand explode in popularity after being featured in Eater Los Angeles. They soon opened a physical location in 2018.
In fall 2019, Dave’s Hot Chicken began offering franchise opportunities across the nation after partnering with an investment group that included former Wetzel's Pretzels CEO and co-founder Bill Phelps, as well as movie producer John Davis. Over the years, other investors who jumped on board include rapper Drake, actor Samuel L. Jackson, former NFL star and media personality Michael Strahan, and TV producer and Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner.
According to the Dave’s Hot Chicken website, there are currently 329 locations across the country, with the most being in its home state of California, 74. The nearest location to Turlock is in Livermore.
The expected expansion comes after Dave’s Hot Chicken was sold last month to private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal valued at $1 billion. Roark also bought Subway in 2023, and backs two holding companies — Inspire Brands and GoTo Foods — that own other restaurant chains such as Buffalo Wild Wins, Sonic, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin’, Jamba, Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s and Arby’s. The leadership team of Phelps, Kopushyan, Oganeshyan and the Rubenyan brothers will remain and continue to lead the restaurant’s operations.
