Dave’s Hot Chicken is an up-and-coming franchise with its new location in Omaha and it seems to be incredibly popular. On the opening day of January 13, it was bustling with people lining up outside the door to try the new chicken joint on the block. I was one of the lucky ones to get there before the hordes of people. Honestly, the food is just alright, I didn’t expect much so I can’t really say I’m disappointed.

According to their official website, Dave’s Hot Chicken was created by best friends Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan and Gary Rubenyan. Dave, a chef trained in Thomas Keller’s French Laundry organization set out to create the perfect Hot Chicken by searching, tasting, and frying.

The four friends scrounged up $900 to put a tiny stand in an East Hollywood parking lot. The menu was simple, and the chicken was the star. Sourced and prepared to be the juiciest and most tender chicken imaginable, each piece is topped with Dave’s signature mix of spices ranging from no spice to “The Reaper.”

Oganesyan created Instagram buzz and the lines began to grow. Two days later, a food website by the name of Eater showed up to see what the fuss was about. The next morning’s headline read “East Hollywood’s Late-Night Chicken Stand Might Blow Your Mind.” Almost instantly, the lines stretched around the block.

A year later, the boys had the money to open a shop in a hip strip mall with décor by local street artists. Crowds continued to grow, as well as the wait times, with some people waiting over an hour. From there, the incredibly crave-able “Hot and Spicy” varieties have created a cult following with rave reviews across the U.S., Canada, The United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

I decided to see if it could live up to the hype and went there that morning of opening day. I looked at the menu and immediately got disappointed. It gave me flashbacks of my disastrous trip to Los Angeles last year. Long story short, everyone (even my former naïve self) unanimously voted to have our first lunch in LA at In-N-Out.

Once I got out of the car and entered, I stared at their menu for a good five minutes before I had to ask the others, “what is this?” I’m not saying that restaurants’ menus should have 100-plus items, but it was very underwhelming.

The menu has main meals that you can order. Each meal is able to be changed to accommodate everyone’s spice preference. The heat levels range from no spice, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot and reaper.

The first meal consists of two chicken tenders of any heat level, fries, sliced bread, pickles and Dave’s sauce. The second consists of 2 chicken sliders, fries, sliced bread, pickles and Dave’s sauce. The third consists of a one tender and one slider combination and the fourth and final meal consists of one slider, kale slaw, pickles and Dave’s Sauce.

As for sides, they have some of the essentials. Mac and cheese, Cheese Fries, Regular Fries and strangely Kale Slaw. One thing that I thought was unique was that they listed buying one tender or one slider on the sides menu. It may seem redundant to order just one but I think it was a nice touch to include.

I personally went for the first meal of two tenders. The employees were very chill and even attempted to help me pick what spice level to get. I was already dead set on getting the hottest they had and that’s exactly what happened. I got one tender with Reaper spice level (their hottest) and one of no spice to see if there was even a hint of spice to it. I appreciate how you can get different heat levels on separate tenders or sliders in the same meal.

Dave’s Hot Chicken’s prices are… well, they’re nothing to sneeze at. They’re not too terrible, but they can be probably brought down a little. I took my meal home and immediately tasted the fries, which were surprisingly good. They are just crinkle-cut fries with a good seasoning but enjoyable nonetheless. The bread felt like a cheap rip-off of Raising Canes’ toast but it was fine.

I won’t even mention the pickles because I don’t like pickles. Time for the main course, the tenders. I immediately went for the reaper tender and took a bite. I can honestly say, it wasn’t all that bad. I am a fan of all hot and or spicy things so I’ve developed quite a tolerance for them.

To give you an example, I straight-up ate a ghost pepper in the sixth grade and didn’t shed a tear. I mean, I coughed for a bit, but it was manageable. So their “reaper” spice wasn’t all bad, but it did have some kick to it, which I appreciate.

Not much grease, a good amount of crispiness to the batter and everything was cooked fresh. I then took a bite of the tender with no spice to taste almost nothing, which isn’t terrible. It really was exactly what I was expecting. Same as the reaper tender, fresh and with no real problems.

Aside from that, I like the fact that they brought back a very illustrious fountain drink, that being the Poppin’ Pink Lemonade flavor of HI-C. I remember drinking this flavor as a kid and it’s nice to drink it again, nostalgic if you will. It was probably the best thing I got from the restaurant itself.

So as for some closing thoughts, I think this restaurant is a good up-and-coming contender for the competition of not only places like Raising Canes, Popeyes, etc. but also for mainstream places like McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s, to list a few.

Since most places are more focused on options rather than perfecting their craft at one thing, Dave’s Hot Chicken is a place where you can get something good of a certain variety. I think this will be the type of place you’ll go when you want chicken.

If you plan on getting some to try for yourself, then I suggest you join in the line. Dave’s Hot Chicken is now open at 335 N. Saddle Creek Road, Their hours range from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.