Dave's Hot Chicken

About the Business

Specialties

Dave's Hot Chicken was created by best friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy and Gary Rubenyan. Dave, a chef trained in Thomas Keller's (French Laundry) organization set out to create the perfect Hot Chicken by searching, tasting, and frying. The four friends scrounged up $900 to put a tiny stand in an East Hollywood parking lot. The menu was simple, and chicken was the star. And what chicken it is! Sourced and prepared to be the juiciest and most tender imaginable with each piece topped with Dave's own mix of spices ranging from "Mild" to "The Reaper". Arman created Instagram buzz and the lines began to grow. Two nights later, Eater/LA showed up to see what the fuss was about. The next morning's headline read "East Hollywood's Late Night Chicken Stand Might Blow Your Mind". Almost instantly, the lines stretched around the block. A year later, the boys had the money to open a shop in a hip strip-mall with de_cor by local street artists, where the crowds continued to grow with wait-times of an hour and more. From there, the incredibly craveable "Hot and Spicy" varieties have created a cult following with rave reviews across the U.S. and Canada.

History

Established in 2017.

In 2017, four childhood friends came up with a simple concept -- take Nashville Hot Chicken and make it better than anyone else in America. With only a couple thousand dollars to their name, they boot-strapped a pop-up concept in a parking lot in East Hollywood serving a simple menu of tenders, sliders, fries, and kale slaw -- they created a viral cult following with lines consistently over an hour long. After 6 months of running the pop-up with long lines, the team took the plunge and opened their first physical store in January 2018 in a sleepy strip center in East Hollywood. Demand for their crave-able hot chicken exceeded all expectations and sales have grown every month since opening with consistently long lines throughout the day.