Dave's Hot Chicken: Is Joliet Restaurant On The Horizon?

JOLIET, IL — Right now, there are no plans on the drawing board for a Dave's Hot Chicken to open in Joliet, the self-proclaimed City of Champions, but what's that to stop one of the fastest-growing restaurant companies from bringing Dave's Hot Chicken to Joliet, the third-largest city in Illinois, a year from now?

After all, five years ago, there were no blueprints on file at Joliet City Hall for a Chick-fil-A, or a Raising Cane's or the Olive Garden Family Restaurant near I-55 and Route 30. Nowadays, Joliet is home to all three thriving restaurants, and they're typically packed with hungry customers hour after hour, day after day, week after week.

In recent days, media representatives with Dave's Hot Chicken reached out to Joliet Patch with a press release, wanting to spread the word that Drake’s "Dave’s Hot Chicken" has been named America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain.

The chain has only been around for six years.

According to the company's website for Dave's Hot Chicken, there are a grand total of three different Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants in Illinois as of May 25.

One is in Chicago on Western Avenue in Roscoe Village, another is in Melrose Park on North Avenue. The closest to Joliet is in Naperville on Showplace Drive, right off Route 59.

According to the news release:

In May 2017, four friends scraped together $900 to purchase a fryer, and served up the best-tasting hot chicken tenders around to those willing to venture to their East Hollywood parking lot pop-up.

“Dave’s Hot Chicken has one of the greatest origin stories in the restaurant business, with the founders starting Dave’s as a parking lot pop-up restaurant in Hollywood with a portable fryer, and picnic tables from their backyards,” said Bill Phelps, Dave’s Hot Chicken’s CEO, in the press release. “The company’s nearly unheard-of growth rate is a result of the founders’ vision for this brand, the tremendous leadership team we’ve assembled, and the incredible commitment of some of the most experienced franchisees in the restaurant industry.”

In 2021, Drake became a significant investor in the hot chicken recipe concept, Dave’s Hot Chicken. The company recently celebrated its 6th anniversary by hosting a pop-up in the East Hollywood parking lot where it all began, passing out free food to customers both old and new.

Dave’s Hot Chicken specializes in jumbo Hot Chicken Tenders and Sliders, along with sides of house-made Kale Slaw, creamy Mac n’ Cheese and crispy, seasoned French Fries. Offered at seven various spice levels ranging from No Spice to Reaper (which requires a signed waiver for those who dare), each piece of juicy, hand-breaded chicken is spiced-to-order.

The company was just named America’s Fastest Growing Restaurant Chain by industry research firm Technomic. Dave’s Hot Chicken’s systemwide sales increased 156 percent over the past year, outpacing every other chain nationwide.

Dave Hot Chicken’s said its phenomenal growth has been fueled by the company’s cult following, demonstrated by people driving across state lines to get a taste of the food. Significant growth and company milestones include:

Now, there are more than 700 locations in the development pipeline, with restaurants currently open in major designated market areas across the US, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Detroit, Toronto, Portland, and Milwaukee. The brand also has locations in Dubai and Canada.

Now that Naperville has a Dave's Hot Chicken, doesn't it seem logical that Dave's would want to bring one to Joliet? Wouldn't it make sense for the franchise to purchase the abandoned and deteriorated Long John Silver's property on West Jefferson Street, tear it down, and build a state of the art and sparkling Dave Hot's Chicken in its place?

Time will tell, everyone. Time will tell. If you want to reach out to the company, to encourage them to consider expanding to Joliet, here's the link to send them an email.

About Dave’s Hot Chicken

Arman Oganesyan and best friend Chef Dave Kopushyan, along with brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan, launched Dave’s Hot Chicken in a parking lot pop-up in 2017. Dave’s Hot Chicken quickly took off, opening its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in East Hollywood.

In 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, Bill Phelps, and movie producer John Davis to begin franchising the Dave’s Hot Chicken concept throughout the U.S. and beyond. The company has sold the rights to more than 700 franchise locations in the U.S., Middle East and Canada and will open 70-plus locations this year. Additional brand investors include Billboard’s Artist of the Decade, Drake, former California First Lady Maria Shriver, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and Good Morning America anchor and retired NFL player Michael Strahan.