From the filings

+49.356% units YoYMandated tech stackHQ-led decisions

Dave's Hot Chicken

Quick service restaurant

Software purchasing at Dave's Hot Chicken is controlled at the corporate level, with a mandated tech stack that includes PlayerLync. The brand operates 358 total units, 348 of which are franchised, creating a concentrated addressable market for vendors. The most recent FDD (2026) names key executives and outlines a 10-year initial term with two consecutive 10-year renewal options.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
358
348 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+49.356%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
4%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$824K–$4.12M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
No claims
from the filing

Ongoing fee load

What the operator pays every month

The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.

10%of gross sales (FY2026)

Ongoing fees: 10% of gross sales (FY2026)Royalty 6%, Ad fund 4%. Total 10% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 6%Ad fund 4%

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

28 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 3 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.

Accounting

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Item 11

We (or our designee) have the right to independently access the electronic information and data relating to your DHC Food Truck and to collect and use your electronic information and data in any manner, including to promote the System and the sale of Franchises.

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Within ninety (90) days following the end of each calendar year, Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor an unaudited financial statement prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and in such form and manner prescribed by Franchisor, which shall be certified by Franchisee to be accurate and…

How the franchisor buys

Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor has formed, an advisory council (“Council”) to advise Franchisor and provide input on virtually all advertising materials and promotions.

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Item 11

We reserve the right to upgrade, modify and add new systems and software, which may result in additional initial and ongoing expenses that you will be responsible for.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

We and our affiliates may receive payments, rebates, allowances, credits or other material consideration from approved or designated suppliers based on purchases made by franchisees, and may retain or use any amounts received without restriction, in our sole discretion, and for any purpose we and/or our affiliates…

Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?

85

Item 8

We estimate that approximately 85% of purchases required to open your Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant and 85% of purchases required to operate your Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant will be from us or from other approved suppliers and under our specifications.

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?

Yes

Item 8

We may charge a fee to evaluate the proposed product, service, or supplier (estimated to be approximately $100 to $500).

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

We will use commercially reasonable efforts to notify you within 30 days after receiving all requested information and materials whether you are authorized to purchase or lease the product or service from that supplier or provider.

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee acknowledges that all telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, social media websites, Internet addresses and email addresses (collectively “Identifiers”) used in the operation of the Franchised Restaurant constitute Franchisor’s assets, and upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, Franchisee will…

Data and IT

Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall adhere to all PCI (Payment Card Industry), CISP (Cardholder Information Security Program) and SDP (Site Data Protection) compliance specifications, as amended.

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor’s authorized representatives shall have the right, from time to time, to enter upon the entire premises of the Franchised Restaurant during business hours, to examine same, conferring with Franchisee’s employees, inspecting and checking operations, food, beverages, furnishings, interior and exterior decor…

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor shall have the right to modify the Dave’s Hot Chicken Operations Manual at any time and from time to time;

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 12

You may operate the Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant only at the specific location we accept.

Marketing

Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee may not independently market its Franchised Restaurant or discuss the Franchised Restaurant, Franchisor, or Franchisor’s Affiliates through the Internet, social media, blogs or crowdfunding campaigns, or use any domain name, address, locator, link, metatag, or search technique with words or symbols similar…

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Item 11

You will pay us between $10,000 and $12,000 for this advertising.

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Franchise agreement

In addition to the Creative Fund Contributions, Franchisee must spend one percent (1%) of annual Gross Sales on local advertising each year (“Local Advertising Requirement”).

Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?

Yes

Item 11

If we elect to form such cooperatives, or if such cooperatives already exist near your territory, you will be required to participate in compliance with the provisions of the Operations Manual, which we may periodically modify in our discretion.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall purchase Authorized Products solely and exclusively from Franchisor or its designees.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated suppliers for marketing and promotional materials, as well as connected TV media and social media.

Payments

Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated merchant services provider for debit and credit cards.

Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?

Yes

Item 6

Payments are made via an electronic funds transfer (“EFT”).

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Item 11

In addition to offering and accepting Dave’s Hot Chicken gift cards and loyalty cards, you must use any payment vendors and accept all payment methods that we determine.

People

Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?

Yes

Item 15

You must have at least six managers at your first Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant in a new Development Area for at least the first 30 days of operation, and you must have a minimum of four managers for subsequent Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurants in the same Development Area for at least the first 30 days of operation.

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee shall cause all employees, while working in the Franchised Restaurant, to: (a) wear uniforms of such color, design, and other specifications as Franchisor may designate from time to time

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You must use the computer hardware and software, including the point-of-sale system that we periodically designate to operate your Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant.

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

We (or our designee) have the right to independently access the electronic information and data generated from the Computer System.

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Item 11

From time to time, we may require that you, your managers and other employees attend system- wide refresher or additional training courses.

Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee, or if Franchisee is an Entity, its Operating Principal or a major Owner acceptable to Franchisor together with each NRO Leader, CRM and CT must attend Franchisor’s annual conference, for which Franchisee must pay a registration fee, regardless of attendance.

The filing answers no to 3 questions
  • Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?Franchise agreement
  • Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
  • Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?Item 11

Who buys here

The buyer at this brand

The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.

Sales LeaderRegional 100 499

HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.

VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
  1. 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
  2. 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
  3. Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.

The vendor opportunity at Dave's Hot Chicken

Dave's Hot Chicken is a quick-service restaurant brand headquartered in California. According to the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system comprises 358 total units, of which 348 are franchised and 10 are company-owned. Year-over-year unit growth stands at 49.356%, signaling rapid expansion. For software vendors, the addressable market is primarily those 348 franchised locations, though the 10 corporate units may also fall under HQ purchasing decisions.

Average unit volume is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. The royalty rate is 6.0%, and the initial franchise term is 10 years. These metrics matter because they shape franchisee profitability and, by extension, willingness to invest in new technology.

Who controls software purchasing

The FDD Item 1 lists five executives: William L. Phelps (Executive Chairman), Jim Bitticks (Chief Executive Officer), Juan Lopez (Chief Restaurant Officer), Carolyne Canady (Chief Development Officer), and Dannon Shiff (Senior Vice President — Real Estate). No dedicated CIO or CTO is named. Given the mandated use of PlayerLync, technology decisions appear centralized at HQ, likely driven by operations leadership under Juan Lopez. Vendors should expect a top-down sales motion rather than a franchisee-driven procurement process.

Mandated and current tech stack

PlayerLync is the only technology system mandated in the FDD. No POS, payroll, inventory, or scheduling platforms are disclosed as required or recommended. This does not mean other systems are absent — only that the franchisor has not chosen to mandate them in the disclosure. Vendors selling complementary or replacement tools should investigate the existing stack through discovery calls, as the FDD provides a narrow window into operational technology.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD contains no procurement extract, so the brand's supplier model — whether designated, approved, or open — is not publicly documented. Item 17 outlines renewal conditions: franchisees in good standing may enter into two consecutive successor agreements, each with a 10-year term. The franchisor may require a materially different contract at renewal. This structure suggests that major technology evaluations could align with renewal cycles, creating periodic openings for vendors to engage both HQ and franchisees.

How to read the Dave's Hot Chicken FDD

The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators and is available for review below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executives and buying center), Item 11 (mandated systems like PlayerLync), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, though absent here), and Item 17 (renewal and contract windows). Focus on the tension between HQ mandates and franchisee autonomy — where the FDD is silent, the real commercial opportunity may lie.

For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize outreach based on unit counts, tech mandates, and decision-maker signals.

Questions vendors ask

Dave's Hot Chicken, answered from the filing

The FDD lists Executive Chairman William L. Phelps, CEO Jim Bitticks, and Chief Restaurant Officer Juan Lopez. Technology decisions likely route through operations leadership, given the mandated PlayerLync system.
The 2026 FDD mandates PlayerLync. No POS or other operational systems are named as required or recommended in the disclosure.
358 total units as of the 2026 FDD: 348 franchised and 10 company-owned. The brand operates in the quick-service restaurant segment.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the designated-supplier versus approved-supplier model is not publicly disclosed.
Initial terms run 10 years. Franchisees in good standing may sign two consecutive 10-year renewals, though renewal contracts may differ materially. Renewal cycles could create periodic evaluation windows.
The 2026 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review it using the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source

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Dave's Hot Chicken2026 FDDView only

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The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

402 operators run 402 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit402

Top states by locations

CA77
FL30
TX28
NY17
NC16

Ownership

The portfolio behind Dave's Hot Chicken

unknown of dhc ste holdco.

Related Quick service restaurant brands

Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.