Los Angeles' Celebrity-Backed Dave's Hot Chicken To Open First Of Many San Diego Locations This Week In Pacific Beach

May 25, 2020

The first San Diego branch of Los Angeles' hit Nashville-style fried chicken eatery Dave's Hot Chicken will open with random hours throughout the week and a grand opening scheduled for this Friday, May 29.

Originally founded in 2017  as a pop-up in a Los Angeles parking lot by Chef Dave Kopushyan (who trained in Thomas Keller’s Bouchon restaurant), Arman Oganesyan, and brothers Tom and Gary Rubenyan, Dave’s Hot Chicken opened its first brick-and-mortar location in East Hollywood in 2018, which quickly became extremely popular with lines around the block and over 100k followers on Instagram. A second outpost opened in North Hollywood this past September, with a third Dave’s Hot Chicken branch unveiled in Los Angeles' Koreatown earlier this year. Dave’s has a concise menu of Nashville-style fried chicken tenders and fried chicken sliders (they're really full size sandwich) with spice levels ranging from "No Heat" to "Reaper." The restaurants also offers a list of sides including fries, kale slaw, and macaroni n' cheese, as well as a limited beer selections and soft drinks.

Inside the Pacific Beach Dave's Hot Chicken, photo courtesy of owner Andrew Feghali's Instagram. 

Dave's Hot Chicken recently partnered with the original investor group behind Blaze Pizza to take the concept across the country, including two locations to open in San Diego within the next year and up to 12 total. The investment group behind the franchise development deal includes Bill Phelps, co-founder of the Wetzel’s Pretzels chain who is now CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken, as well as former California First Lady Maria Shriver, actor Samuel L. Jackson, Red Sox owner Tom Werner, movie producer John Davis, and Good Morning America anchor and former NFL player Michael Strahan. The four original founders will retain a 50% ownership interest and also own their own franchises, including the flagship location and the branches already planned for LA.

Dave’s Hot Chicken has signed a franchise agreement with San Diegans Lawrence Kourie and Andrew Feghali to open a dozen stores in San Diego County over the next few years. The first San Diego outpost of Dave's Hot Chicken will unveil with take-out and delivery exclusive soft opening hours during the week leading to a grand opening on Friday, May 29. The restaurant is located in 2,000 square-foot expansive corner unit at 1001 Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach that previously housed Country Boy Fried Chicken for a record low one-month in business.

Dave's Hot Chicken will be open from 11am – 11pm Monday through Thursday, and 11am until midnight Friday through Sunday. For more information, visit daveshotchicken.com and call 858.369.5212.