[ALERT] Usher Gets "Caught Up" in Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise

Multi-Grammy award winning entertainer and musician Usher is looking to get [back] into franchising.   According to a March 27 release, Usher, born Usher Raymond IV, is joining a franchise group that plans to bring as many as nine locations of Dave's Hot Chicken to metro Atlanta in the coming years.   The release did not indicate where or when any locations would open in metro Atlanta, only that Usher was going to be involved. 

Dave's Hot Chicken in a former Burger King in Sacramento, CA

Usher, who was born in Dallas, Texas but grew up in metro Atlanta, now spends most of his time in Los Angeles, where he owns two lavish properties.  This past December he concluded his 100 show Las Vegas Residency and in February headlined the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show.  In August he will go on tour for the first time in several years, following the release of his ninth studio album "Coming Home."  The tour - ''Usher: Past, Present, Future'' will feature 26 stops across the U.S. and Canada including two in Atlanta at State Farm Arena on October 17th and 18th.  

Dave's Hot Chicken is a Los Angeles-based, Nashville-style hot chicken brand that got its start in a West Hollywood parking lot in 2017 and has since expanded to some 200 restaurants worldwide, with more than 700 in development, according to the company.   

Usher is investing in a partnership with existing franchisees Lawrence Kourie and Andrew Feghali, whose company is the longest-tenured Dave’s Hot Chicken franchise group, according to a company release. 

Kourie and Feghali were the brand's first franchisees and currently operate (or have agreements to develop) locations in California, Nevada, New Mexico, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Virginia.  The duo were awarded "Franchisee of the Year" at the International Franchise Associations's (IFA) annual convention in February.  

Usher, who will turn 46 in October, was just 28 when he opened a completely different franchise in metro Atlanta in 2006.  The Grape, an Atlanta-based wine bar and eatery, proudly promoted Usher as a would-be multi-unit franchisee in 2006.   The Grape debuted in Inman Park to tremendous fanfare in late 2006, but Usher's first and last unit of the Grape closed in 2009 and the entire company shuttered soon after.  The location, 300 North Highland Avenue, might have turned into a goldmine had he stuck it out a few more years as something called 'The BeltLine' opened adjacent to the eatery in 2012.  Pure Taqueria occupies the space today.  

“Dave’s Hot Chicken is some of the best hot chicken I’ve ever had. I’m excited to be involved with the brand, and bring Dave’s delicious tenders and sliders to people across Atlanta,” Usher said in a statement.  

Usher joins Canadian rapper and entrepreneur Drake as well as journalist Maria Shriver, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and former athlete turned talk show co-host Michael Strahan, among other celebrities, investing in the growing brand.  

In joining as a franchisee of Dave's, Usher will look to this time find success in the restaurant business and avoid the struggles of other Atlanta rappers such as Ludacris and T.I., who have both opened and closed independent restaurants of their own in metro Atlanta.  Outside of entertainment celebrities, Shaq is among the most successful sports franchisees with ownership in multiple Atlanta area Papa John's and Krispy Kreme restaurants as well as a stake in "Big Chicken," a growing 25+ unit fast food chicken chain. 

While we here at ToNeTo Atlanta wish Usher (who once called our founder "a diamond in the rough"), all the luck in the world, hot chicken has become incredibly saturated and competitive.  

Atlanta is the home of two locations of popular chain operator Hattie B's Hot Chicken and will soon be home to four locations of Howlin Willy's, a hot chicken brand from Atlanta's Willy's Mexicana Grill.  

Scoville Hot Chicken, an Atlanta-based concept, once counted a dozen or so locations across multiple states but after launching in late 2020 and expanding via franchising, has closed many and today includes just three: Buckhead, Sandy Springs, and Lawrenceville.  

Are you surprised to see Usher get back into the restaurant business?  Have you been to Dave's Hot Chicken?  What is your favorite place for hot chicken?  

Please share your thoughts below.