Recruiting and Retaining Top Talent in Fast-Casual Franchising

To the team behind Dave’s Hot Chicken, “top talent” means operators who are as passionate about the brand as we are. You can teach someone to run a restaurant, but you can’t teach them to embody Dave’s values: mind-blowing chicken, great service, and an awesome vibe — and we won’t settle for anything less.

Even before @Bill Phelps stepped in as CEO in 2019, Dave’s Hot Chicken was already making waves, being named #2 on Yelp’s list of the 50 best restaurants in America with only one brick-and-mortar restaurant. That early recognition set the stage for what was to come.

Phelps made it his mission to make Dave’s Hot Chicken the next big player in the fast-casual chicken segment while keeping our brand’s scrappy, no-nonsense spirit intact. Scaling up? Absolutely. Selling out? Not a chance. Every decision we make stays true to the founders’ original mantra: Blow Their Minds.

By 2022, QSR had named us the Breakout Brand of the Year, and Restaurant Business called us the ‘Next Big Thing’. Dave’s was then crowned America’s Fastest-Growing Restaurant, also earning the top spot as Fast Casual’s #1 Mover and Shaker in 2023. But let’s be real. Our success isn’t just about our food — it’s driven by our people.

With more than 200 franchised locations and six company-owned units setting the gold standard, our expansion strategy is straightforward: partner with seasoned operators and investor groups who see the same potential in Dave’s that our founders did. We call it ‘smart growth,’ driven by investors who understand the fast-casual franchise industry inside and out.

Keeping Top Talent and Making an Impact

Bringing in top talent is just step one. Keeping them is where the real work begins. Dave’s Hot Chicken's impact on the fast-casual chicken landscape is undeniable, backed by Dave’s joining forces with the most accomplished multi-unit franchise operators and investors on each new development deal. By teaming up with industry heavyweights, like the investment firm behind Wetzel's Pretzels and Blaze Pizza, the fastest-growing restaurant concept ever, Dave’s Hot Chicken has made itself a household name. ?

Dave’s Hot Chicken’s bold approach to franchising has resulted in prospective franchisees fully committing to its business model, as shown by our development pipeline of over 1,000 units worldwide.

Take @Andrew Feghali and @Lawrence Kourie from our original franchisee group. They were the first to franchise with Dave’s in 2020, and last month, they teamed up with music icon Usher to bring the first Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurants to Georgia in a nine-unit development deal.

Then there’s @Raj Patel, a 2023 Multi-Brand Leadership MVP who’s successfully grown his portfolio with several major food brands, including seven Dave’s locations across Chicagoland. He recently signed on for an additional 10 units throughout Pittsburgh.

Our most recent achievement? A 60-location deal with @Azurri Group across the U.K. and Ireland, bringing Nashville-style heat across the pond. ?

By the end of 2024, Dave’s Hot Chicken will have nearly 275 open locations, with plans to open 100 new restaurants each year starting in 2025.

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