[EXCLUSIVE] With First Dave's Hot Chicken Now Open in Georgia, Franchisee Secures Several More Sites

If you thought metro Atlanta had enough choices for chicken...think again.  A new franchise of Dave's Hot Chicken is coming soon to Buford.  The new hot chicken joint is replacing a MOD Pizza franchise in a large mixed-use development that closed in July.   

Dave's will occupy a space next to Starbucks and near Chipotle in The Exchange at Gwinnett (2925 Buford Drive, Suite 510). MOD Buford opened in November 2021 and is one of three - including others in East Cobb and Chamblee - to have closed earlier this year. The leasing of a relatively new second generation restaurant space should significantly lessen the costs Dave's incurs in opening their restaurant.   

The company last week celebrated the opening of their first Atlanta area restaurant in Conyers.  Located at Highway 138, Dave's occupies a converted former Krystal and drew tremendous crowds to the new restaurant, with some reporting that wait times (in car) stretched dozens deep and 2+ hours over the weekend.  

Dave's started in Los Angeles in 2017.  The chain is today based in Pasadena and has more than 200 locations open and franchise agreements signed for dozens more.  

ToNeTo Atlanta announced in May that another Dave's Hot Chicken is planned for Roswell Road in Sandy Springs (a former Willy's Mexicana Grill) with another more recently revealed to be backfilling the short-lived Viva Chicken on Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta.  A former Willy's in Columbus is also becoming a new Dave's Hot Chicken.

As we have mentioned previously, hot chicken has proven to be a tough sell in metro Atlanta, where Joella's closed all four of their metro locations and local upstart Scoville has closed more than a half dozen.  According to the Scoville website, the company currently has units in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, and Lawrenceville, but the Sandy Springs unit which had been marketed for sale for months, is "under contract," according to The Shumacher Group.  The one multi-unit hot chicken exception would likely be Howlin' Willy's Hot Chicken, a subsidiary brand of Willy's Mexicana Grill.  The concept's first three locations were within existing Willy's, while its latest in East Cobb is within the same center as an existing Willy's but in its own suite.    

Dave's metro Atlanta expansion is being led by an experienced multi-unit franchise group with the assistance of Atlanta's Usher.    

Have you been to Dave's Hot Chicken?  Do you think so many hot chicken joints can thrive in metro Atlanta?  Where else in Atlanta would you like to see Dave's Hot Chicken open?  

Please share your thoughts below.