It’s loved by Drake and Usher, and has people queuing up for three hours
Cult US brand Dave’s Hot Chicken has arrived in Manchester(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
There’s no beating around the bush when it comes to Dave’s Hot Chicken. It’s brash, it’s loud and, apparently, it’s ‘like crack’ to its millions of fans worldwide.
The hit American chain has finally arrived in Manchester with a restaurant setting up shop in the Printworks. The walls are adorned with Manchester-inspired graffiti (think bees and nods to the Hacienda), whilst there’s also a DJ booth, and cheeky slogans like ‘this chicken is bonkers’. It’s far from subtle.
The street food venture started life eight years ago in an East Hollywood car park. The dream was to create perfect Nashville-style fried chicken, and just days after opening they were hailed by a top LA critic as being the best. Jobs a good ‘un and the rest, as they say, is history.
Dave’s is now a worldwide phenomenon, with more than 300 stores. Its new city centre location marks its third in the country, following recent successes in London and Birmingham.
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Dave’s Hot Chicken has been described as being ‘sweet, spicy, and salty'(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“We had a list of places we wanted to open in and Manchester was up there at the top,” Keyana Mohammadi, the head of marketing for Dave’s Hot Chicken in the UK, tells the Manchester Evening News.
“There’s a massive food scene here, and it’s also known for its great culture, whether that’s art or music, so it just feels right for us to be here. For us, Manchester is the next biggest city after London.”
But whilst the Manchester restaurant is certainly extravagant (there’s a huge mural of a screaming chicken on the side of the stairs, for example), there’s actually a surprising bit of simplicity to proceedings too. Breaking it down, its main meal menu consists of just four choices – two tenders, two sliders, a tender and a slider or just a slider with fries (As you can imagine, it’s chicken, chicken, chicken, or chicken).
The ‘bonkers’ venue is adorned with graffiti paying homage to the brand and to the city of Manchester(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
From there, you can customise things with one of seven spice levels – ranging from no spice up to the all-out Reaper, which comes with its own set of warnings.
“Our Reaper spice level is pretty hot,” Keyana explains. “You have to sign a waiver in order to be able to order it.”
Sliders – basically burgers – come with kale slaw, pickles, and a portion of Dave’s sauce, with meals ranging from £9.99 to £13.49. There’s also sides, like mac & cheese, to pick from, as well as top-loaded shakes featuring Lucky Charms, M&Ms or Oreo pieces and slushed ices.
The tenders also come served on top a slice of plain white bread, which has come with some controversy here in the UK.
“It’s how it is served in Nashville,” an adamant Keyana says.
“We’ve had some complaints about it, but it’s the traditional way – it’s to soak up the sauces. Some people will eat it like a sandwich, whilst others will just eat it on its own.”
Meals are served with honey, whilst tenders are served on top of a slice of white bread – a move that has proved to be somewhat controversial here in the UK(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
The team at Dave’s say that the difference between what they have to offer and any of the hundred other fried chicken shops within walking distance of the Printworks all comes down to its ‘addictive nature’.
Still based on the original secret spice recipe from Dave the founder, the UK’s offering has been ‘taste matched’ to the US, with potato rolls, pickles and the spice flavourings all coming in direct from America.
“It’s really cravable,” Keyana says. “It’s fresh chicken breast that is really juicy and thick. From a spice perspective, we’re quite unique from others. It’s just this idea of Nashville-style chicken that you just can’t really get here in the UK.”
The Manchester spot is the first Dave’s in the UK to feature a DJ set up, ready to host takeovers and live music showcases – which will take place every Friday and Saturday night with local artists as part of a collaboration with grassroots music champion GigPig, who also happen to originate from Manchester.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is, as they say themselves, bonkers(Image: Dave’s Hot Chicken)
And music doesn’t just form part of its atmosphere, it forms part of Dave’s DNA thanks to superstar investor Drake, who took a punt on the company three years ago.
“It’s pretty cool,” Keyana explains of his involvement.
“He is an investor and he is involved in the brand mostly from the US perspective.. The company celebrates his birthday in the US with Drake Day, where people can get free food.
“His birthday is in October and we’re going to try and do it here as well – so watch this space about that,” Keyana teases. In fact, Usher is also a fan – and reportedly is a franchisee of a number of stores in the US.
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Sides include the likes of mac & cheese, whilst customers can also choose their level of spice for their chicken(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
The arrival of the London and Birmingham stores has already gone down extremely well with fans, with some early customers queuing up as long as three hours to be amongst the first to get their hands on a meal. The team are expecting a similar reaction in Manchester, when the store officially opens on Friday (August 8).
“I’ve never ever come across in my career like it before and I’ve worked in hospitality all my life,” Keyana says of the response here in the UK. “The reaction to our arrival in Manchester has been really great so far. We hosted a pop-up last month and ran out of 350 meals in less than an hour. So, we’re expecting a big turn out!”
Asked why people should give Dave’s a go, Keyana says it’s simple.
“It is the most cravable, delicious fried chicken you’ll ever have – genuinely,” she insists. “It’s sweet, spicy, salty, it’s one of those that you’ll eat and then you’ll want more of it.”
Dave’s Hot Chicken opens August 8 at 11am. 27 Withy Grove, Manchester, M4 2BS.