Rapper Drake has made an investment in Dave’s Hot Chicken, Bloomberg reports.
The spicy chicken company has exploded in popularity since it started in a parking lot in Los Angeles in May 2017. The company now has 22 restaurants, including one in Far North Dallas.
Another Dave’s is opening soon in Plano.
Dave’s Hot Chicken has a tiny menu of chicken tenders, chicken sliders with kale slaw, and fries. The chicken can come in seven spice levels, and those who order the hottest, “reaper,” have to sign an actual waiver.
The company already had famous investors in Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner and actor Samuel L. Jackson, Bloomberg reports. Bill Phelps, co-founder of Wetzel’s Pretzels, and John Davis, a movie producer, are also helping grow the business. And now Drake is among them.
“I tried the food and it was amazing,” Drake said in a statement. “After meeting the founders and hearing their story, I jumped at the opportunity to invest.”
The company didn’t disclose the terms of his minority stake.
Dave’s co-owners are a happy-go-lucky crop of Armenian buddies who named the company after chef Dave Kopushyan, one of their four founders. He used to be a vegetarian but, y’know: Things changed.
Company leaders told The Dallas Morning News at the May 2021 opening of Dave’s in Dallas that they have sold franchise rights to open more than 400 Dave’s Hot Chickens across the United States.
If you’re into chicken stories, check this out: There’s a new bird-themed restaurant in Uptown Dallas.
The first Dave’s Hot Chicken that opened in Texas is at 14750 Preston Road (between Spring Valley and Belt Line roads), Dallas. It opened May 28, 2021.
For more food news follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.
