{"id":42763,"date":"2025-06-03T20:19:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T20:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=42763"},"modified":"2025-06-03T20:19:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T20:19:05","slug":"daves-hot-chicken-acquired-for-1b-by-roark-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=42763","title":{"rendered":"Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken Acquired for $1B By Roark Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken, which began in 2017, announced on Monday that it was acquired by private equity firm (and Subway owner) Roark Capital in a $1 billion deal.<\/p>\n<p>The chicken shop, which specializes in a hot, Nashville-style of the bird, expects to open 155 locations this year and end 2025 with 400 restaurants worldwide, according to a press release.<\/p>\n<p>Not bad for a company that began with a group of childhood friends in an East Hollywood, California, parking lot.<\/p>\n<p><b>Related:<\/b> &#8216;It Was Like a Drug&#8217;: How Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken Grew a Cult Following From a Parking Lot<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is one of the great entrepreneurial journeys of our time, and now we begin the next chapter in the story,&#8221; said Bill Phelps, Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken&#8217;s CEO, in a press release. &#8220;Our entire organization is excited about the fit between Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken and Roark, and we&#8217;re looking forward to continuing to blow our guests&#8217; minds and unlocking growth and value for our franchise partners.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>According to data from Placer.ai, &#8220;Big Chicken&#8221; is on the up, and Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken was the leader of the flock, with the &#8220;most significant&#8221; year-over-year visit growth (67.2% in Q4 2024 and 60.0% in Q1 2025) of all the chicken chains, including Huey Magoo&#8217;s, Super Chix, and Raising Cane&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"602\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/_\/DXZ6ut1tzDyYVNi9P284?src=embed\" style=\"border:none;\" title=\"Chicken Chain Visits Outpace Overall Fast-Casual, Quick-Service Segments \u2013 as Brands Continue to Expand Their Footprints\" width=\"780\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Dave Kopushyan, the &#8220;Dave&#8221; in the name, is one of the founders and the chef who began slinging the now-famous hot chicken using portable fryers and folding tables. He told <i>Entrepreneur<\/i> in 2022 that the company&#8217;s fast success is making them work even harder.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You just have to be present for all of it,&#8221; Kopushyan said. &#8220;And you have to believe in your product and use that motivation to keep going.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: <\/b>Private Equity Giant Blackstone Acquires Jersey Mike&#8217;s Subs for $8 Billion<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Dave&#8217;s began franchising, and the company says it has sold the rights to more than 1,000 locations in the U.S., the Middle East, and Canada.<\/p>\n<p>Roark is based in Atlanta and specializes in franchised businesses, per the AP. It purchased Subway sandwiches in 2023 and backs a slew of restaurant chains, from Jimmy John&#8217;s to Jamba Juice.<\/p>\n<p><sup>Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken Sliders &#8211; Courtesy of Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken <\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"first-letter:float-left first-letter:text-8xl first-letter:pr-1 first-letter:-mt-1 first-letter:font-black first-letter:text-gray-500 prose prose-blue max-w-3xl text-lg leading-relaxed mb-12\">\n<p>Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken, which began in 2017, announced on Monday that it was acquired by private equity firm (and Subway owner) Roark Capital in a $1 billion deal.<\/p>\n<p>The chicken shop, which specializes in a hot, Nashville-style of the bird, expects to open 155 locations this year and end 2025 with 400 restaurants worldwide, according to a press release.<\/p>\n<p>Not bad for a company that began with a group of childhood friends in an East Hollywood, California, parking lot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"justify-center bg-gray-100 flex flex-col sm:flex-row rounded-lg p-6 align-middle sm:text-left text-center\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col justify-center align-middle mr-0 sm:mr-16\">\n<p class=\"text-sm leading-5 my-0\">\n      The rest of this article is locked.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xl text-black font-bold leading-5 my-1\">\n      Join Entrepreneur<span class=\"text-yellow-500\">+<\/span> today for access.\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/business-news\/daves-hot-chicken-acquired-for-1b-by-roark-capital\/492690\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dave&#8217;s Hot Chicken, which began in 2017, announced on Monday that it was acquired by private equity firm (and Subway owner) Roark Capital in a $1 billion deal. The chicken shop, which specializes in a hot, Nashville-style of the bird, expects to open 155 locations this year and end 2025 with 400 restaurants worldwide, according<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[32],"class_list":{"0":"post-42763","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-make-money","8":"tag-featured"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken Acquired for $1B By Roark Capital | iSafeSpend<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dave&#039;s Hot Chicken, which began in 2017, announced on Monday that it was acquired by private equity firm (and Subway owner) Roark Capital in a $1 billion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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