SLO’s latest hot chicken restaurant is now open — with a tasty menu and dramatic interior
An Instagram-famous restaurant will open its newest franchise in San Luis Obispo this weekend, bringing its bright red hot chicken to the Central Coast for the first time.
Dave’s Hot Chicken had its grand opening on Friday, June 24, at the Madonna Plaza space previously occupied by Panera.
Specializing in hot chicken tenders and sliders, the restaurant chain’s recipes have sparked a following of more than 520,000 users on Instagram as well as a merchandise line.
Each franchise’s interior is decorated with colorful street-art-style murals, and the SLO location is no exception, featuring images of a city flag, a wave, the Cal Poly logo and “Mustangs,” and palm trees.
Mitch Wolf, co-owner of the SLO franchise, said the restaurant’s menu is pretty simple and diners can choose from four combinations featuring the Nashville-style hot chicken.
“It’s pretty darn good,” he said.
“Our location is the former Panera Bread,” Wolf added. “We were fortunate enough to get this location. Total renovation, plenty of seating, and we get people in and out quickly.”
Those who visit the eatery can choose their fried chicken’s spice level, ranging from “No Spice” all the way to “Reaper,” which, according to a news release, “requires a signed waiver for those who dare.” Also featured on the menu are cheese fries, kale slaw and milkshakes.
Offering both indoor and outdoor seating, the restaurant will open every day of the week at 10:30 a.m., closing at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
A parking lot pop-up turned sensation
According to the restaurant’s website, Dave’s Hot Chicken was created in 2017 by four friends who used $900 to put up a stand in an East Hollywood parking lot.
Their recipe for chicken that the restaurant says is “the juiciest and most tender imaginable” was developed by one of the four friends, trained chef Dave Kopushyan, who also created a mix of spices to coat each piece.
The fried chicken pop-up quickly gained traction, drawing “lines around the block, with rave reviews by its fanatic Instagram followers,” according to the news release.
Dave’s success has led it to open multiple eateries across the country. The restaurant has a franchising agreement with the investors who launched Blaze Pizza in California.
Martha Olmos, one of the franchisees who brought Dave’s to San Luis Obispo, said in the release that the fried chicken restaurant stood out from other chicken concepts out there.
“They have a great, innovative product that people love and continue to crave long after they first tried it,” Olmos said.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 11:58 AM.
