By Courtney Pochin
Copyright metro
Fans can’t get enough of the spicy chicken (Picture: Dave’s Hot Chicken)
Dave’s Hot Chicken opened its doors in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue in December and queues have been forming for the food ever since.
Fans of the chicken chain were thrilled when the LA-born brand announced it was opening two more UK locations, in Manchester and Birmingham, over the summer.
And now there’s even more good news, as Dave’s is going full speed ahead with its expansion plans and has revealed exclusively to Metro that another two restaurants will be launching very soon.
The fast food chain is setting up shop in Stevenage, opening its doors on Friday, October 3, and then later in the month a second London location will hit Westfield White City.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is America’s fastest-growing chain (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
This comes after America’s fastest-growing chain revealed plans for a whopping 57 sites across the UK.
The new Stevenage location will be landing at Stevenage Leisure Park and it’s set to be the ‘most American’ branch Dave’s has in the UK to date, complete with curbside pickup.
Meanwhile the Westfield White City location will be opening on October 24 offering a ‘bold and immersive’ dining space in the heart of the shopping centre.
According to Dave’s, both restaurants will showcase distinct street-art inspired interiors and offer the full fan-favourite menu including seven spice levels of the famous Nashville-style hot chicken, as well as sides, shakes and icy Slushers.
What’s going on with all the chicken chains in the UK?
Chicken chains have been setting up shop left, right and center in the UK, with Dave’s Hot Chicken, KFC and Slim Chickens expanding and brands like Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane’s revealing plans for new sites.
And it’s not just American chicken brands that want to set up shop here – Dubai-based BonBird and Canada’s MB Chicken are also getting in on the action.
Other established fast food chains are jumping on the bandwagon too, with Domino’s recently unveiling a new chicken spin-off brand called Chick ‘N’ Dip and McDonald’s revealing its looking to add more chicken items to its UK menu.
To find out why fried chicken is proving so popular right now, Metro spoke to Vhari Russell, a food industry specialist and founder of The Food Marketing Experts.
She explained that during turbulent times, such as a cost of living crisis, chicken is seen as an ‘affordable, familiar and versatile’ product.
‘It’s a lower-risk source of protein when costs are high and customers are cautious,’ she says. ‘It’s also perceived as being slightly “healthier” than beef or pork, so it appeals across demographics.’
Jim Attwood, the managing director of Dave’s Hot Chicken UK, said: ‘Stevenage and Westfield White City are important steps for us as we grow across the UK.
‘Stevenage is our first suburban leisure park location with a strong L.A. influence, while Westfield White City places us in one of London’s busiest shopping destinations.
‘We’re excited to open our doors and welcome both new and returning fans.’
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Dave’s Hot Chicken was founded in East Hollywood back in 2017, when four friends who loved chicken tenders scraped together enough money ($900) to buy a fryer and launch a pop-up business in a car park.
They began serving Nashville-style hot chicken and soon people were flocking to get a taste, with Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, and Usher all being counted amongst the brand’s biggest fans, and investing in the company.
And if you’re still wondering how it tastes, fans on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram have praised the food as ‘unreal’, ‘amazing’, ‘elite’ and a ‘10/10’.
Comment nowWhat do you think about Dave’s Hot Chicken coming to more UK locations?Comment Now
Reviews on TripAdvisor for the Shaftesbury Avenue location also claim that Dave’s has the ‘best chicken ever’.
Richard H posted: ‘Absolutely the best chicken in the world imo. It’s extremely hot (extra hot) Chicken is tender and succulent never dry and always 100 percent fresh.’
Similarly, Oliver G said he had the ‘best meal of [his] life’ at Dave’s, while Rebekah B said it was the ‘best chicken ever’ and she was ‘blown away’ by it.
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