The vendor opportunity at Dave's Hot Chicken
Dave's Hot Chicken franchises 348 restaurants, plus 10 company-owned locations, with 65 franchised restaurants in California, 21 in Florida and 11 in Colorado. Franchised outlets grew 49.4% year over year. The FDD makes no financial performance representation. Operators here run larger footprints too: of 88 mapped operators, 69 run multiple units, with several holding 10 to 24 locations.
Who controls software purchasing
Dave's Hot Chicken operates under parent DHC STE Holdco. Executive Chairman William L. Phelps, CEO Jim Bitticks, Chief Restaurant Officer Juan Lopez, Chief Development Officer Carolyne Canady and SVP of Real Estate Dannon Shiff run the corporate side. Because Item 11 requires every restaurant to run the same franchisor-designated computer and POS system, corporate — not the individual operator — is where a vendor's pitch has to start, even for the system's larger multi-unit owners.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
The FDD requires every restaurant to install a Computer System that reports gross sales and runs programs the franchisor designates to extract sales and product-mix data, plus a business-class internet connection and two iPads to run the PlayerLync program for employee training. Franchisees must use the computer hardware and software, including the point-of-sale system, that Dave's Hot Chicken periodically designates, and must use its designated supplier for installation, support and hosting of that system, as well as a designated payment vendor accepting all methods the franchisor determines. Franchisees must also buy maintenance contracts, including help desk support and hardware maintenance, from approved suppliers. Non-Traditional Restaurants and DHC Food Trucks are the one carve-out where franchisees are not required to buy these systems from the designated supplier.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 requires franchisees to buy Proprietary Products only from Dave's Hot Chicken or a licensed third party; for items without a designated source or approved supplier, a franchisee may buy from any vendor meeting the franchisor's specifications, or propose an alternative supplier for approval.
How to read the Dave's Hot Chicken FDD
The embedded PDF viewer below carries Dave's Hot Chicken's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document in full. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of franchise systems like this one worth prioritizing for your next pitch.
Ordinary royalty terms
Complete royalty terms are not confirmed.