Restaurants & Bars
Dave's Hot Chicken Opens In Union City - With Sliding-Heat-Scale Menu
For those who like it hot, a signed waiver for its "Reaper"-level, spicy chicken is required by the restaurant.
UNION CITY, CA — Dave's Hot Chicken, a fast-growing, SoCal-based chain renown for its mild to mouth-numbing, heat-level chicken, recently opened at Union Landing in Union City.
The eatery, with a large fan following, specializes in chicken tenders and sliders, with a sliding scale of seven "heat" options, ranging from "No Spice" to "Reaper" — the over-the-top level that requires a signed waiver, for those who dare.
Ice cream milkshakes also are on the menu, along with such sides as house-made kale slaw, mac n' cheese and crinkle-cut fries.
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The Union Landing restaurant marks the second Dave's Hot Chicken in the San Francisco Bay Area. The other, in Santa Rosa, opened in 2021.
The fast-casual chain began in 2017 as a Hollywood parking lot, pop-up by a foursome, equipped with a portable fryer and picnic tables, who were intent on creating the perfect "hot" chicken.
Find out what's happening in Union Cityfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Among the four, two brothers and two friends, was Dave Kopushyan, a chef trained at Bouchon, a restaurant from Napa Valley's French Laundry founder, Thomas Keller. The Dave's enterprise credits Kopushyan with creating the seven, signature spice mixes.
The founders eventually opened a brick-and-mortar shop in an L.A. strip mall, and now operate close to 60 restaurants— approximately 25 throughout Southern California.
With ambitious expansion plans for the U.S. and Canada, Dave's has sold the rights to almost 500 franchise locations and plans to open 25 sites this year, according to management. Company investors include rap artist Drake, former California First Lady Maria Shriver, Red Sox owner Tom Werner, actor Samuel L. Jackson and Good Morning America anchor and retired NFL player Michael Strahan.
The Union City location, at 32200 Dyer St., is open Sundays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. The best entrance is off Ratekin Drive.
Follow this link for Dave's Hot Chicken menu details.
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