Dave’s Hot Chicken, a US-based fast-casual restaurant chain known for its Nashville-style hot chicken, is on the brink of a sale to Roark Capital for $1bn.
The private equity firm is in advanced talks for the acquisition, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Roark Capital also owns Subway, Arby’s, Jimmy Johns, Baskin-Robbins and Carvel.
Dave’s Hot Chicken operates more than 250 locations worldwide, with $1bn in annual sales.
Its competitors include Yum! Brands’ KFC chain, Restaurant Brands’ Popeye’s and Chick-fil-A.
In February 2025, Reuters reported that Dave’s Hot Chicken had hired North Point Investment Bank to manage a potential divestment.
The restaurant chain also recently teamed up with food tech platform ezCater to launch its inaugural catering programme, addressing the growing demand from workplaces across the country.
This allows organisations to order Dave’s Hot Chicken for meetings, events and staff lunches from more than 200 of its locations.
Dave’s Hot Chicken president and chief operations officer Jim Bitticks said: “Partnering with ezCater allows Dave’s Hot Chicken to tap into high-value workplace customers like never before.
“This partnership will help us capitalise on the growing demand in workplace catering while also opening up a new revenue stream for our franchise owners.
“The average order value for Dave’s Hot Chicken orders on ezCater exceeds $500, and we expect catering to represent as much as 10% of our business within a year.”
