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Dave's Hot Chicken
Dave’s Hot Chicken franchises fast-casual restaurants featuring Nashville-style hot chicken tenders and sliders with made-to-order spice levels, along with related food and drink items in a fun dining format. The business model primarily offers multi-unit area development franchises requiring a minimum of three restaurants in a designated area, with options for single-unit franchises in traditional, non-traditional, or food truck formats. It targets multi-unit operators and entrepreneurs in the quick-service restaurant industry seeking high-investment opportunities in spicy chicken concepts.
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Franchise Costs
6% royalty + 4% creative fund + $170-$500/week technology & operations fee + $556/mo (food safety assessment, mystery shopper, guest response)
Financial Performance
Item 19 Financial Performance
This franchise did not provide Item 19 financial performance data.
Be careful if you are interested in investing. The lack of financial performance representations may indicate limited data or varying results across franchises.
Extracted Item 19 Section
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Unlock financial performance dataDave's Hot Chicken Franchise Analysis
Explosive growth has turned Dave's Hot Chicken into a spicy sensation since franchising began in 2019, but its high-stakes model demands serious commitment from operators. While the FDD teases robust expansion plans and a handful of SBA-backed deals, the lack of Item 19 earnings claims leaves would-be buyers guessing on the bottom line. Can this Nashville-style powerhouse deliver the heat on returns, or is the multi-unit requirement too scorching for most? Unlock the numbers to find out.
Item 7 in the 2025 FDD lays out a hefty initial investment of $617,800 to $3,218,000, covering build-out for traditional spots, equipment, and inventory in the fast-casual hot chicken niche. The $40,000 franchise fee gets you into a system with 221 franchise locations plus 23 corporate ones, up 51% from 146 units in 2023. Ongoing fees hit 6% royalties, 4% brand fund, plus $170-$500 weekly tech/ops charges and $556 monthly for food safety and mystery shopping—stacking up to notable ongoing costs that multi-unit developers must budget for across at least three stores.
System metrics paint a picture of aggressive scaling with 148 projected new units, just 5 transfers, and only 5 SBA loans averaging $1,019,600, signaling selective financing for big players. No Item 19 disclosure means no average sales or profit figures, a red flag for transparency in a concept targeting experienced QSR operators chasing high-volume spicy chicken demand. Growth is real, but without revenue visibility, you're betting on the buzz—ideal for deep-pocketed multi-unit pros, riskier for solo entrepreneurs eyeing single-unit or food truck plays.
Analysis based on the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. All figures should be independently verified before making investment decisions.
How Dave's Hot Chicken Compares
Key Insights
- Higher than average SBA loan default rate in Fast Casual
| Franchise | Investment | Fee | Royalty | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave's Hot Chicken Current | $618K – $3.2M | $40K | 6.0% | 221 |
| Tropical Smoothie Cafe | $276K – $771K | $35K | 6.0% | 1,650 |
| TROPICAL SMOOTHIE CAFÉ | $300K – $721K | $35K | 6.0% | 1,371 |
| FIREHOUSE SUBS RESTAURANTS (UNIT) | $405K – $1.6M | $20K | 6.0% | 1,249 |
| Zaxby's | $1.4M – $3.8M | $35K | 6.0% | 826 |
| Qdoba | $548K – $1.3M | $40K | 5.0% | 652 |
Fast Casual Average 107 franchises | $529K – $1.2M | $39K | 5.6% | – |
* Comparison based on latest FDD filings. Investment ranges from Item 7, fees from Item 5. Showing top 5 of 107 Fast Casual franchises by location count.
Locations & Growth
Outlet Growth Over Time
Total outlets at end of each year
Geographic Distribution (2024)
Outlets by state across the United States
+22 more states
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Unlock location growth dataSBA Loan History
Historical SBA 7(a) loan data for Dave's Hot Chicken franchisees (2023 – 2025)
Loans by Year
SBA 7(a) loan activity over time
* Data sourced from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records. Default rate calculated from charged-off loans.
5 SBA loans on record
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Unlock SBA loan historyFranchisee Contacts
224 franchisee contacts on file from official FDD filings.
224 Contacts Available
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Unlock contactsDue Diligence
Litigation (Item 3)
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
System Health (Item 20)
Franchise system changes reported in the most recent fiscal year
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Unlock due diligence reportsFrequently Asked Questions
The total initial investment to open a Dave's Hot Chicken franchise ranges from $617,800 to $3,218,000. This includes a franchise fee of $40,000. Ongoing royalty fees are 6.0% of gross sales.