A new fast-food chicken spot is moving into St. Cloud, and it's already looking to fill jobs before the doors even open. Dave's Hot Chicken is heading to the same complex as Barnes & Noble in St. Cloud, with signage and permits already posted at the site, and the company is hiring team members and shift leaders even though no opening date has been announced.
The St. Cloud location had already been reported as planned by 103.7 The Loon in June 2024; WJON later covered the location's signage and hiring push. The station's report also traced the chain's broader Minnesota footprint, which currently includes spots in the Twin Cities metro area, Rochester and Fargo. Other outlets covering the St. Cloud rollout have been a bit more cautious about pinning down exact details: River 96.7 confirmed the Barnes & Noble complex connection and the now-hiring status, while 103.7 The Loon reported that the exact street address still hadn't been disclosed, writing simply that “we will have to wait a bit for that information.”
A Family Operation Behind the Expansion
The Minnesota push is being driven by a family-run franchisee group that includes former NBA player Kris Humphries, his parents William and Debra Humphries, and his cousin Alex Humphries, according to Yahoo News. The family-run operation brought the Los Angeles-based chain to Minnesota in 2023, per a separate Yahoo report on the company's plans. That same reporting noted the chain currently operates in Minnetonka, St. Paul, Apple Valley and Coon Rapids, on top of the Twin Cities, Rochester and Fargo locations cited by WJON.
Per WJON, Dave's Hot Chicken started in 2017 as a late-night pop-up launched by three childhood friends from East Hollywood before expanding throughout the United States. The chain counts Drake as a major investor, and Samuel L. Jackson and Maria Shriver have both been named as high-profile fans, WJON reported. Bill Phelps, who previously co-founded Blaze Pizza, now serves as CEO, according to the same report.
Testing Grounds for a Statewide Rollout
Alex Humphries has described the incoming Rochester and St. Cloud restaurants as “testing grounds” for expanding Dave's Hot Chicken throughout Minnesota, according to 103.7 The Loon. Just how big that expansion gets depends on which account you read. Yahoo reported plans for a total of 18 Minnesota locations, including one each in Rochester and St. Cloud, while a separate Yahoo article put the company's overall target at 30 restaurants statewide. Minnesota's New Country offered yet another figure, reporting the chain has expressed interest in opening up to 16 locations in the state.
Whatever the ultimate number, the pace appears steady. KROC News reported the Humphries family plans to open three to four new locations each year, while NewsBreak reported the chain has announced plans for at least six new locations around the state. Yahoo's reporting on the Twin Cities pipeline named Woodbury, Cottage Grove, Maplewood and Roseville as other sites under consideration.
What's on the Menu
For St. Cloud diners wondering what the fuss is about, KROC News laid out the basics: the menu centers on chicken tenders, tenders on buns, or sliders, alongside sides like fries, mac and cheese, and kale slaw. Customers can dial the heat up or down across seven different spice levels, ranging from no spice to super spicy, the outlet reported.
St. Cloud already has no shortage of competition in the category. WJON noted that the city's fast-food chicken restaurants sit within about one mile of each other, and 103.7 The Loon similarly observed that most of the existing chicken spots cluster within roughly a five-block radius. Whether Dave's Hot Chicken can carve out its own niche in that crowded corner of the market will likely become clearer once an opening date is finally set.
Elsewhere in the Pipeline
The St. Cloud rollout is just one piece of a larger buildout happening across the state. In Rochester, Yahoo reported the chain's location is planned for 1630 Broadway Avenue South, with an opening forecast for May or June 2025. Another franchise was slated for the former Taco John's site in Oak Park Heights, with Yahoo reporting that restaurant would run 2,750 square feet and include both on-site dining and a drive-thru.
For now, the St. Cloud project remains in its hiring phase, with team member and shift leader positions open ahead of a launch date that has yet to be revealed.
