LOWER NAZARETH TWP., Pa – A rapidly expanding restaurant chain will soon heat up the Lehigh Valley’s dining scene.
The first Lehigh Valley location of Dave’s Hot Chicken, a fast-casual chain specializing in jumbo hot chicken tenders and sliders, is expected to open in the third quarter of this year at 3812 Easton-Nazareth Highway in Lower Nazareth Township, Northampton County.
A new location of Dave’s Hot Chicken, a fast-casual chain specializing in jumbo hot chicken tenders and sliders, is coming soon to 3812 Easton-Nazareth Highway in Lower Nazareth Township.
Ryan Kneller
“We are very excited about opening a Dave’s Hot Chicken in the Nazareth-Easton area,” franchisee Tom Carpenter told 69 News. “If all goes well, we hope to be open by mid September of this year.”
The new Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurant will occupy a soon-to-be-renovated end unit that previously housed a Saladworks location in the Nazareth Crossing shopping center.
The forthcoming eatery, with seating for 37 guests, is tentatively set to operate 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Carpenter said.
It will supplement several regional locations, including a Bucks County location that opened last summer at 218 N. West End Blvd. in Richland Township, just outside Quakertown.
A location of Dave’s Hot Chicken opened in 2025 in Richland Township, Bucks County.
Ryan Kneller
Other nearby locations operate in Montgomery County and Philadelphia.
Dave’s Hot Chicken was founded in 2017, when three childhood friends in their 20s – Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan and Tommy Rubenyan – scraped together $900 and began serving customers via a portable fryer and folding tables in an East Hollywood parking lot, according to a company description.
The concept saw instant success thanks to a flurry of Instagram posts and word of mouth among friends.
A published Eater LA report, “East Hollywood’s New Late Night Hot Chicken Stand Might Blow Your Mind,” then took the blossoming venture’s popularity to the next level.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
“So much was born for us in that moment,” the company description continues.
“The lines went down the street and around the block. An older brother joined the team. We opened our first store. And our goal became clear. Make juicy, spicy, hot chicken that will ‘Blow Your Mind.’”
Dave’s Hot Chicken customers can enjoy hot chicken tenders and sliders in their choice of seven spice levels: no spice, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot and reaper.
Each piece is hand-breaded and spiced-to-order.
Customers also can enjoy “saucy bites,” all-white meat boneless chicken bites tossed in your choice of sauce, including spicy Buffalo, spicy BBQ or Mike’s Hot Honey.
Other menu highlights include house-made kale slaw, creamy mac n’ cheese, seasoned fries, cheese fries, loaded fries and milkshakes.
“There is a ‘Dave’s Hot Chicken’ app that is very user friendly and it helps in locating any nearby locations, as well as ordering online for pickup,’ Carpenter said.
Carpenter and his team also operate four other Pennsylvania locations of Dave’s Hot Chicken: on Quentin Road in Lebanon, in the Gateway Plaza in Chambersburg, on Carlisle Pike in Mechanicsburg and on Loucks Road in York.
“We will continue to develop new stores as locations become available,” Carpenter said.
Dave’s Hot Chicken, which also offers catering, has grown rapidly since its humble beginnings in an East Hollywood parking lot nearly a decade ago.
In 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel’s Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, Bill Phelps, to begin franchising the Dave’s Hot Chicken concept, with Billboard’s Artist of the Decade, Drake, investing in the brand as well.
The company has sold the rights to more than 1,000 franchise locations in the United States, Middle East, Europe and Canada and will open 150-plus locations this year, according to a recent news release.