Navigating Celebrity Influence and Franchising Success

Dave’s Hot Chicken began as a tiny pop-up, selling spicy chicken tenders and fries from a tent in East Hollywood. Their homemade take on Nashville Hot Chicken was an overnight sensation in a city that had barely heard of it, and within days, co-founder Arman Oganesyan and his partners were working frantically to serve the long lines out front. Since launching seven years ago, the pop-up has grown into a chain of 200 stores, with franchises across the country, and a beloved rubber chicken mascot.

This episode was produced by Sam Paulson with music by Ramtin Arablouei.

It was edited by Neva Grant with research help from Katherine Sypher. Our audio engineers were Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Murray.

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