The next Dave’s Hot Chicken Austin project brings a parking-lot success story to EastVillage, the 425-acre mixed-use district taking shape in northeast Austin. The brand plans a 2,752-square-foot restaurant at 3500 E. Parmer Lane, Suite 12125, adding Nashville-style hot chicken to the development’s growing dining lineup.
Dave’s already has an Austin-area presence in Cedar Park and Georgetown. The EastVillage project would extend that regional footprint to the East Parmer corridor, with a $500,000 tenant finish-out inside a standalone building.
The company’s beginnings were considerably smaller: roughly $900, folding tables and a portable fryer in an East Hollywood parking lot.
From a $900 Pop-Up to a Permanent Restaurant
According to Dave’s own origin story, three childhood friends pooled $900 to start selling hot chicken in 2017. Chef Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan and Tommy Rubenyan launched the nighttime pop-up with a setup that left little room for frills.
Instagram helped bring people to the parking lot. Customers returned with friends, and an early restaurant review helped turn the small operation into a destination with lines around the block.
Tommy’s brother Gary joined as the business grew into its first permanent East Hollywood restaurant. Together, the four founders built the company that now carries Dave’s name across a much larger map.
Franchising Took the Concept Beyond Los Angeles
In 2019, the founders partnered with former Wetzel’s Pretzels CEO Bill Phelps and movie producer John Davis to begin franchising. An April 2026 company announcement said a group of openings that month would take Dave’s beyond 400 restaurants worldwide.
That dated milestone describes operating restaurants, separate from agreements to develop future locations. The same announcement identified Drake and Samuel L. Jackson among the brand’s investors and described franchise expansion across the United States and international markets.
For EastVillage, the result is a recognizable restaurant brand whose national growth has happened in less than a decade. The humble starting point gives this particular tenant a backstory that reaches well beyond another restaurant sign.
Dave’s Hot Chicken Austin Expansion Builds on Nearby Locations
Dave’s official Texas directory currently lists restaurants in Cedar Park and Georgetown. Those include 1500 E. Whitestone Blvd. in Cedar Park and 1039 W. University Ave. in Georgetown.
Those locations establish the brand’s presence around Austin without turning the EastVillage proposal into a claimed first for Central Texas. The new restaurant would give the company an East Parmer address within Austin itself.
The geography is the useful distinction: EastVillage occupies the northeast Austin tech corridor along Parmer Lane, across from Samsung’s Austin campus. It places the planned restaurant within a developing district of homes, businesses and gathering spaces.
What EastVillage Adds to the Dave’s Hot Chicken Austin Story
Developer Reger Holdings is leading EastVillage’s planning and buildout. Its 425-acre plan combines residential neighborhoods with restaurants, retail, offices, hospitality and entertainment.
The development’s current overview lists 435,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space in its plans. A 1.5-acre Village Green and Center Stage form part of the gathering-space vision, alongside parkland and trails.
Residential life is already part of the project. EastVillage identifies The Janis and The Vaughan as open apartment communities offering immediate move-ins, while additional commercial pieces continue taking shape.
That mix makes the restaurant’s setting more substantial than a single shopping-center bay. Dave’s would occupy a standalone building within a district intended to bring everyday dining, housing and work closer together.
Hot Chicken Joins the Dining Lineup
EastVillage’s own tenant directory lists Dave’s as Coming Soon, alongside planned additions such as Shake Shack, Potbelly and Torchy’s Tacos. It also lists Chipotle, which TCM previously covered in its EastVillage restaurant report.
Dave’s menu centers on Nashville-style chicken tenders and sliders, with fries, bites and shakes among the options. Its official restaurant pages describe seven spice levels, ranging from Not Hot to Reaper.
That range lets customers choose the heat rather than committing every order to the hottest seasoning. The focused chicken menu would add a different option to EastVillage’s planned mix of burgers, tacos and sandwiches.
Dave’s Hot Chicken Austin Construction Schedule
Registration TABS2027002360 describes new tenant finish-out work and improvements to accommodate the restaurant. The $500,000 estimate covers that filed scope; it should not be read as the cost of constructing the entire standalone building.
The filing names RH RA-7 Commercial QOZB LLC as owner and Fusion AE of Irving as designer. It identifies tenant funding and a construction window from January 18 through June 5, 2027.
June 5 is the filed construction-completion estimate, not a confirmed opening day. EastVillage continues to label Dave’s Coming Soon.
From a portable fryer in East Hollywood to a planned restaurant in a 425-acre Austin district, Dave’s has traveled a long way. At EastVillage, its next chapter would also become part of northeast Austin’s continuing commercial buildout.