Food & Beverage

Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise

Nashville-style hot chicken tenders and sliders served in a fast-casual format, primarily franchised as multi-unit Area Development agreements requiring a minimum of three restaurants. Started as a single pop-up stand in an East Hollywood parking lot in 2017 before scaling nationally -- one of the fastest unit-count expansions in this dataset.

Opening more locationsFounded 2017HQ: Pasadena, CA

Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Dave's Hot Chicken's own filing.

What it costs to open

From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.

Franchise fee

$40,000

Total to open

$617,800–$2,170,000

Ongoing royalty

6% of gross sales

What you'd actually spend, over time

The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.

Your estimated annual revenue

Defaulted to a rough food & beverage industry average, not a figure from Dave's Hot Chicken's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.

Years of ownership

Total cost of ownership over 5 years

$917,800 – $2,470,000

Startup investment

$617,800–$2,170,000

Royalty per year (6%)

$60,000

Total royalty, 5yr

$300,000

When would you break even?

Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Dave's Hot Chicken's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical food & beverage profit margin (~8%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.

Estimated profit margin (% of revenue)

%≈ $80,000/year

Defaulted to a general food & beverage industry benchmark, not a figure from Dave's Hot Chicken's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.

At that profit, you'd break even in about

7.7–27.1 years

Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Dave's Hot Chicken is opening more locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.

Is Dave's Hot Chicken actually growing?

Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:

Locations opened vs. closed, by year

Growing

From Item 20 of Dave's Hot Chicken's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.

+56

+68

+75

202220232024

Year	Franchised units, start	Franchised units, end	Net change
2022	22	78	+56
2023	78	146	+68
2024	146	221	+75

Most recent year (2024): gained 75 franchised units, ending the year at 221 total.

What you're actually signing up for

The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.

Training & ongoing support (Item 11)

Initial training includes classroom sessions at Pasadena, CA headquarters plus attendance at a new-restaurant opening (about 8 days) for the Operating Principal and Director of Operations. On top of that, Dave's provides up to 40 hours/week of on-site, hands-on training for two weeks at each of your first three restaurants -- but you pay a real fee for it ($15,000 for the 2nd/3rd restaurant, $40,000 for the 4th+), a more expensive ongoing-training structure than most peers in this dataset.

Territory protection (Item 12)

Territory protection here is not guaranteed by default -- the FDD states that if you don't receive a defined "Territory," your rights are limited to your restaurant's street address alone. Even with a Territory, Dave's reserves the right to open a second location in any shopping center over 500,000 sq ft (after offering a 7-day right of first refusal), and other franchisees or third parties can perform catering/delivery inside your territory without compensating you.

Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)

10-year term with two real 10-year renewal options (50% of the then-current franchise fee as a renewal fee). Disputes go through mediation first, then arbitration or litigation, both venued in Pasadena, CA -- but the law of whichever state your restaurant is actually located in applies, not California's. Non-compete after termination is 2 years within 25 miles.

How Dave's Hot Chicken compares to other Food & Beverage franchises

Across the 52 food & beverage franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $860,899–$2,165,095, with royalties averaging around 5.6% of gross sales (based on the 48 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).

Slim Chickens

$1,188,900–$4,944,000 · 5% royalty

Ziggi's Coffee

$315,830–$2,093,361 · 6% royalty

Crumbl

$848,566–$1,472,533 · 8% royalty

Little Caesars

$376,500–$1,769,200 · 6% royalty

Jamba

$480,850–$941,300 · 6% royalty

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

$300,000–$720,500 · 6% royalty

Playa Bowls

$188,675–$636,458 · 6% royalty

Kona Ice

$114,730–$228,601 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Firehouse Subs

$166,671–$950,351 · 6% royalty

Wingstop

$310,400–$1,048,500 · 6% royalty

Jersey Mike's Subs

$436,176–$1,162,228 · 6.5% royalty

Dunkin'

$532,400–$1,832,500 · 5.9% royalty

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

$1,222,045–$3,923,245 · 5% royalty

Del Taco

$1,461,200–$3,313,500 · 5% royalty

Blaze Pizza

$757,000–$1,297,100 · 5% royalty

Church's Texas Chicken

$1,202,400–$1,886,300 · 5% royalty

MOD Pizza

$924,732–$1,220,633 · 5% royalty

Twin Peaks

$2,959,000–$5,734,000 · 5% royalty

McDonald's

$1,470,500–$2,642,000 · 5% royalty

Subway

$263,000–$630,000 · 8% royalty

Taco Bell

$1,859,750–$4,312,200 · 5.5% royalty

Domino's Pizza

$231,450–$743,500 · 5.5% royalty

KFC

$2,107,575–$4,155,000 · 5% royalty

Burger King

$2,039,200–$4,730,600 · 4.5% royalty

Chick-fil-A

$317,521–$3,463,155 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Penn Station

$507,500–$858,750 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Nekter Juice Bar

$243,155–$647,160 · 6% royalty

Jimmy John's

$366,200–$733,500 · 6% royalty

Sonic Drive-In

$1,485,200–$2,522,900 · 5% royalty

Papa John's

$281,485–$890,267 · 5% royalty

Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs

$238,982–$697,322 · 5.5% royalty

Jack in the Box

$1,909,500–$4,041,500 · 5% royalty

Wendy's

$1,523,957–$2,992,000 · 4% royalty

Marco's Pizza

$286,477–$811,186 · 5.5% royalty

Pizza Hut

$846,000–$2,130,000 · 6% royalty

Chicken Salad Chick

$777,000–$998,500 · 5% royalty

Teriyaki Madness

$392,667–$1,121,405 · 6% royalty

Cold Stone Creamery

$390,675–$680,775 · 6% royalty

Scooter's Coffee

$1,163,650–$1,345,750 · 6% royalty

Nothing Bundt Cakes

$475,200–$994,100 · 6% royalty

Five Guys

$977,850–$1,375,750 · 6% royalty

Tim Hortons

$427,500–$3,312,500 · 6% royalty

7 Brew

$940,500–$2,283,500 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Swig

$608,400–$1,718,000 · 7% royalty

Culver's

$3,406,350–$10,294,100 · 4% royalty

Dairy Queen

$1,516,200–$2,543,050 · 4% royalty

Paris Baguette

$727,515–$1,860,550 · 5% royalty

Jollibee

$1,614,568–$4,589,057 · 5% royalty

Smoothie King

$329,850–$683,215 · 6% royalty

IHOP

$380,550–$3,735,850 · 4.5% royalty

Cinnabon

$256,950–$703,500 · 6% royalty

Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise FAQ

How much does it cost to franchise a Dave's Hot Chicken?

Based on Dave's Hot Chicken's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $617,800–$2,170,000, including the $40,000 franchise fee. California DFPI Registration Application, App ID APP00003564, filed 10/2/2025, effective 7/6/2026. FDD issued September 26, 2025 (replaces the 2024 FDD previously cited here). Item 5: $40,000 initial franchise fee. Item 6: 6% royalty; Creative Fund contribution 4%. Item 7: $617,800-$2,170,000 for a standard restaurant; a freestanding/ground-up format totals $989,800-$3,218,000 and a non-traditional format $208,150-$544,500. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets, 2022-2024.

What is the Dave's Hot Chicken franchise fee and royalty rate?

The initial franchise fee is $40,000, and the ongoing royalty is 6% of gross sales, per the filing on record.

Is the Dave's Hot Chicken franchise growing or shrinking?

Growing. Across 2022–2024, Dave's Hot Chicken added a net 199 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.

Keep going

Dave's Hot Chicken and Swig are both food & beverage franchises; Swig's total investment starts about $9,400 lower than Dave's Hot Chicken's. Swig Franchise
Dave's Hot Chicken and Dunkin' are both food & beverage franchises; Dunkin''s total investment starts about $85,400 lower than Dave's Hot Chicken's. Dunkin' Franchise

Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Application, App ID APP00003564, filed 10/2/2025, effective 7/6/2026. FDD issued September 26, 2025 (replaces the 2024 FDD previously cited here). Item 5: $40,000 initial franchise fee. Item 6: 6% royalty; Creative Fund contribution 4%. Item 7: $617,800-$2,170,000 for a standard restaurant; a freestanding/ground-up format totals $989,800-$3,218,000 and a non-traditional format $208,150-$544,500. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets, 2022-2024. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2025-10-02. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.

If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.