‘It Was Like a Drug’: How Dave’s Hot Chicken Grew a Cult Following in an East Hollywood Parking Lot

There’s not much traffic going west towards Hollywood, but Dave’s Hot Chicken is nonetheless crowded at noon on an ordinary Tuesday. Checkered red trays holding piles of steaming, crispy chicken make their way through the maze of customers lined up to order, and they eventually land at the tables of hungry diners filling the outdoor patio. Behind the counter, there’s more staff than usual. “That’s some of our Middle East team,” says Dave Kopushyan, the Dave himself. “We’re opening a location in Dubai this summer.”

Dubai is exciting, sure.