A history of Dave’s Fried Chicken

an excerpt from Ramen Fried Chicken

Over the last half-dozen years, the hot chicken craze has swept across America, leaving a trail of pollo picante that ranges from gourmand to garbahge. But one spot stayed true to the food while also growing into ubiquity – beginning with real ingredients, making shit right, and driving people back for more. That spot is Dave’s.

For the uninitiated, Dave’s Hot Chicken is a nationwide hot chicken chain that has ridden the wave of our insatiable appetite for the spicy bird. What started as a pop-up in a parking lot in East Hollywood in 2017 has morphed into a behemoth, its 700 locations spanning from San Diego to Dubai. Their Instagram account has more than a million followers. Drake is an investor.

But before the accolades and franchises and global notoriety, four buddies had a grand idea to perfect the spicy chicken experience. Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy and Gary Rubenyan scrounged up $900 for ingredients and a cheap fryer, then set up shop in a parking lot next to a cell phone store.

Dave, the namesake, sharpened his knives at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, the veritable big leagues of fine dining. But he decided to make chicken sandwiches in a parking lot with his three buddies and take only cash. Like many who go through such crucibles of particularity and perfection, Dave boomeranged back to the basics he knew and loved.

“Dave, the namesake, sharpened his knives at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, the veritable big leagues of fine dining.”

Perhaps it’s sacrilegious to claim a Southern California joint as the pinnacle of hot chicken. It did start in Nashville, after all, and was perfected there before migrating to the wretched coasts. I’m no elitist – I bow to Hattie B’s, having stood in the frigid Nashville winter for an hour in line and vowing to do it again. But Hattie’s is a local joint, well-worth the trip but requiring one nonetheless. Thanks to their franchise model, there’s probably a Dave’s within biking distance from you. 

And Dave and the crew knew the unassailable truth of spicy chicken sandwiches – done well, they’re nearly perfect. A balance of crispy chicken and cushy bread, a symmetrical cyclone of spice, sweet (slaw), salty and sour (pickles). Economical, not cheap. It even has most of the food groups. 

Their success has inspired legions of imitators – entrepreneurs who salivate at the profit margins, foodies looking for their unique spin (Korean fried chicken on big Bao buns, anyone?). Even the Big Guys have rolled out their own spicy sandos, jostling for position in front of hungry mouths. Yet the key to Dave’s (and Hattie’s B’s, and Red Rooster) remains straightforward – put food first.

Perhaps one day, Dave’s will lose its moral center and become yet another link in the chain restaurant gang. But while you can, get it while it’s hot.