Dive Brief:

• Dave’s Hot Chicken will open its first store in London on Saturday, marking the first of a planned 60 units in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and its 250th store overall, the brand said Wednesday.
• The location is operated by Dave’s franchisee the Azzurri Group, a restaurant operator with more than 230 restaurants from several different brands in the U.K. and Ireland. 
• Dave’s total unit count has exploded from just two in early 2020 to 118 in March 2023 and now to 250. The chain opened roughly 80 locations over the course of 2024.

Dive Insight:

The U.K. and Ireland are attractive targets for U.S. chicken brands looking to move abroad: Chick-fil-A is in the opening stages of a $100 million play to make the U.K. and Northern Ireland its first major international market, while KFC said it would acquire 218 of its franchised units in an effort to build up its company-operated portfolio in the British Isles.

Dave’s flagship London store is a 90-seat, two floor behemoth, complete with street art displays paying homage to areas like Piccadilly Circus, a commercial zone in London, according to the press release.

Jim Attwood, Azzurri’s managing director, predicted that Dave’s strong branding and hot flavors would help it build a major fanbase in the U.K.

Dave’s expects to continue its 2024 development pace next year. The chain has introduced several new initiatives to support its growth. In January, Dave’s added cauliflower sliders for a limited time, and in June it added chicken bites to its menu. In its California home market, the brand and its franchisees began testing self-serve kiosks earlier this year to offset the impact of that state’s $20 fast food minimum wage law.