First Dave's Hot Chicken in Wisconsin is set to open this Friday in Menomonee Falls

Cathy Kozlowicz, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
Dave's Hot Chicken is slated to open in Menomonee Falls Jan. 28. It will feature hot chicken tenders and sliders, along with sides of house-made kale slaw, mac n’ cheese and french fries. The chicken is offered at seven various spice levels ranging from no spice to reaper.
Dave's Hot Chicken is slated to open in Menomonee Falls Jan. 28. It will feature hot chicken tenders and sliders, along with sides of house-made kale slaw, mac n’ cheese and french fries. The chicken is offered at seven various spice levels ranging from no spice to reaper.

Dave's Hot Chicken will open its first franchise in Wisconsin on Friday, company officials confirmed.

The restaurant, N92 W16125 Falls Parkway, Menomonee Falls, will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. It will be in the space formerly occupied by Grate Pizza, Mac & More, which closed in November.

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Dave's Hot Chicken is scheduled to open at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 28. It will open N92 W16125 Falls Pkwy, at the Whitestone Station development, in Menomonee Falls.
Dave's Hot Chicken is scheduled to open at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 28. It will open N92 W16125 Falls Pkwy, at the Whitestone Station development, in Menomonee Falls.

The "fast-casual concept" specializes in hot chicken tenders and sliders, along with sides of house-made kale slaw, mac n’ cheese and french fries, according to a company news release. The chicken is offered at seven various spice levels ranging from no spice to reaper; each piece of chicken uses a proprietary spice blend crafted specifically for its heat level.

Dave’s Hot Chicken’s newest Menomonee Falls location features indoor seating and custom artwork throughout the restaurant, including murals.

"We are ecstatic to be opening our first restaurant in the state of Wisconsin,” said Dave's Hot Chicken CEO Bill Phelps in a statement.

Owners of the Menomonee Falls franchise will be Mike Pranke who also owns Roaring Fork Restaurant Group — that operates the 54 Qdobas in Wisconsin, three in Illinois, and one in Iowa — and business partner Ron Stokes.

The Fork Restaurant Group formed MR Chicken LLC in September 2021, according to the restaurant group's website. Through MR Chicken LLC, they signed a master development agreement to bring 14 Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants to Wisconsin over the next six years.

Dave's Hot Chicken is slated to open in Menomonee Falls Jan. 28 N92 W16125 Falls Pkwy, at the Whitestone Station development. One of the features of the Menomonee Falls location is the colorful decor and the murals.
Dave's Hot Chicken is slated to open in Menomonee Falls Jan. 28 N92 W16125 Falls Pkwy, at the Whitestone Station development. One of the features of the Menomonee Falls location is the colorful decor and the murals.

The Menomonee Falls location will be the 44th Dave's Hot Chicken store.

Arman Oganesyan and best friend Chef Dave Kopushyan, along with brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan, started the restaurant started as a parking lot pop-up in 2017. Dave’s Hot Chicken quickly took off, opening its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in East Hollywood soon after.

According to the news release, in 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO Phelps and movie producer John Davis to begin franchising the Dave’s Hot Chicken concept.

The release said the company has sold the rights to almost 500 franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada; an additional 25 locations are slated to open this year.

Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dave's Hot Chicken is set to open Jan. 28 in Menomonee Falls