Dave's Hot Chicken opened its doors in Cedar Park on Friday, bringing the buzzy Nashville-style fried chicken chain to 1500 E. Whitestone Blvd., Suite 100. The new restaurant serves spicy fried chicken tenders and sandwiches alongside french fries, fried mozzarella, and milkshakes, and it marks the chain's second location in the Austin metro area.
The opening was first reported by Community Impact, which noted the Cedar Park shop follows the brand's Austin-area debut in Georgetown, where a location opened at 1039 W. University Ave. on September 18, 2025, inside a former Carl's Jr. building after a $350,000 renovation. The Cedar Park build-out was smaller in scope but still substantial: public records filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation show the project involved an estimated $175,000 interior remodel of the existing 2,372-square-foot space, according to WhatNow.
The new restaurant sits along Whitestone Boulevard, Cedar Park's primary retail and dining corridor, which has seen steady growth in new dining concepts as Williamson County's suburban population continues to expand, as previously reported by Hoodline's coverage of the corridor.
A Regional Rollout, Not a One-Off Store
The Cedar Park opening isn't a standalone event. Franchisee Brian Cassidy of CW Strong Restaurant Group LLC announced plans last August to expand Dave's Hot Chicken across the Austin area with seven to 10 locations over three to five years, with future sites eyed in Pflugerville, Central Austin, and South Austin, the same WhatNow report states. CW Strong holds the primary franchise development rights for the region.
CW Strong's portfolio extends well beyond hot chicken. The group, co-led by Cassidy, manages more than 20 Dave's Hot Chicken locations, over 120 Carl's Jr. restaurants, and a 22-unit expansion agreement for Mike's Red Tacos across Texas and California, according to Gorilla Dash. That scale positions the Cedar Park store as one data point in a much larger, organized push into Central Texas suburbs rather than an isolated new business.
From Parking-Lot Pop-Up to Billion-Dollar Brand
Dave's Hot Chicken's roots trace back to May 2017, when chef Dave Kopushyan — who trained within Thomas Keller's Bouchon restaurant organization — launched the concept as an East Hollywood parking lot pop-up with childhood friends Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan, starting with just $900 in capital, per Wikipedia. The founders reportedly drew inspiration from In-N-Out Burger's simple operational model.
The brand has since grown into a heavily capitalized national chain. Private equity firm Roark Capital acquired a majority controlling stake in Dave's Hot Chicken in June 2025 in a deal that valued the company at roughly $1 billion, the Los Angeles Times reported. Atlanta-based Roark also owns other major restaurant groups, including Subway and Inspire Brands. Following the sale, the chain retained a roster of high-profile minority celebrity investors, including Drake, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Strahan, and Maria Shriver, according to Forbes; Drake originally joined as an investor back in 2021.
Seven Spice Levels, One Waiver
Dave's Hot Chicken offers seven spice levels for its tenders and sliders, topping out with the Carolina Reaper-based Reaper level, which measures up to 2 million Scoville Heat Units and requires guests to sign a formal liability waiver before ordering, per Community Impact's earlier coverage of the Cedar Park opening. The chain now has hundreds of locations around the world, and it generated more than $600 million in annual system-wide revenue in 2024 — a 57% year-over-year growth rate with average unit volumes surpassing $3.2 million, according to Companies History. System-wide store counts had exceeded 300 locations by late 2025.
For Cedar Park diners, the arrival means a shorter drive for a brand that has built a national following on viral heat levels and rapid expansion. With CW Strong's broader Central Texas plans still unfolding, the Whitestone Boulevard location is likely to be followed by more Dave's Hot Chicken storefronts across the Austin area in the coming years.
