Dave’s Hot Chicken launches new menu item as chain continues WA expansion

Dave’s Hot Chicken, a fried chicken chain popular on the West Coast, unveiled a new menu item Monday.

On Nov. 24, Dave’s Hot Chicken launched Saucy Bites and Ranch Dip, along with a Reaper Ranch, across its approximately 400 locations across the country. Saucy Bites are the restaurant’s Chicken Bites tossed in one of three craveable sauces: Spicy Buffalo, Spicy BBQ, and Mike’s Hot Honey.

The company is also introducing a Ranch dip, along with a Dave’s signature Reaper Ranch, after receiving “thousands of DMs” about it.

“Dave’s Bites have been a huge hit with our guests since their introduction last year,” Bill Phelps, CEO of Dave’s Hot Chicken, said. “Since then, we’ve received thousands of social media messages asking us to toss our Bites in delicious sauces and to add Ranch. These new Saucy Bites with Ranch and Reaper Ranch demonstrate our ongoing commitment to offering the most craveable hot chicken anywhere, and also to listening to our guests to give them more of what they want.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken to add another location in Seattle

So many people have flocked to Dave’s Hot Chicken, the restaurant has decided to open up another Seattle location.

The popular chicken spot is planning to expand to West Seattle, The Puget Sound Business Journal reported Monday.

Dave’s Hot Chicken will occupy the former Haymaker space on California Avenue Southwest, sharing it with bubble tea company Gong Cha.

Gong Cha’s first Seattle location opened in Capitol Hill in October, across the street from the chicken spot.

“Our Dave’s Hot Chicken in Capitol Hill has been very popular, and we’ve received ongoing feedback from guests who visit from West Seattle and have asked for a location closer to home,” Gong Cha franchisee Prachi Keshap told The Puget Sound Business Journal. “When this space became available, it offered an ideal opportunity to bring both brands to a neighborhood with strong demand.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken announces 4 new restaurants in WA

Earlier this summer, Dave’s Hot Chicken announced it was planning to open four new restaurants in Washington by the end of 2026.

Around the same time frame, the company was acquired by the private equity firm Roark Capital, which owns Subway, according to The Associated Press. The deal was valued at $1 billion.

Dave’s Hot Chicken said it was planning to open Redmond and Tacoma locations by the end of 2025 and Puyallup and Federal Way locations by the end of 2026.

Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, and Tommy Rubenyan, a group of childhood friends, founded the restaurant in 2017.

“Our not-so-grand opening was in 2017, in a parking lot in East Hollywood, with a couple of folding tables and a portable fryer under the night sky,” Dave’s Hot Chicken wrote in a statement.

The Capitol Hill Seattle location opened in 2023.

Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest