Heather C.
Yelp
I was really excited to have another chicken restaurant in the area to try. This specific franchise comes to us from California. They had their grand opening on June 30, so this was the day I decided to give them a try. I was one of their first guests in line. Outside, they had a DJ playing music but that was it. I was kind of shocked there wasn't more excitement. There was no incentive to support their grand opening, other than being the first ones to try it. Typically, other grand openings have shirts, prize wheels, raffles, or at least a little coupon to come back. While I am not heartbroken to have not received this, it just seemed like a bit of an odd grand opening because of this. The line took a long time to move. It definitely could just be because the employees and customers are brand new and could be asking a lot of questions. As I got closer, I was able to read the menu. I was a bit shocked at the lack of variety with the menu. There was no sauces and not a lot of options, other than tenders or sliders.
Since this was my first time here, I wanted to get a feel for the menu. So I ordered the slider and the tender combo. I asked if it came with any sauce and he said I could get a ketchup packet lol. My total came out to $13.93, which wasn't bad. However, in hindsight, the quality was lacking and the price was high for how low the quality was. The tender was great with texture, but the taste was bitter. I love spicy things but it wasn't even a spicy factor, it didn't have any flavor and then it had a sting to it. The fries also needed sauce, luckily, the meal did some with a small side of their sauce so this helped. I also did like their pickles. For $13.93, I think it should've not only been better quality, but also come with a drink. That's just my opinion though.
Also, why did the tender come on an uncooked piece of bread? I saw an influencer video where she shared a "hack" with toasting the bread at home...how is that a hack? Dairy Queen, Cane's, and everyone else, gives you toast. I am not a duck and I think it is just so weird to give someone a piece of bread. Rolls are good, breadsticks are good, toast is good...but a piece of bread.
The inside of the building has a very specific vibe. It reminds me of Subway Surfers or Avril Lavigne's Sk8er Boi. It has a graffiti, California boy vibe to it. The bathrooms followed the same theme. Which is most definitely not my style but I can appreciate it when it is someone else's business that they are leasing out. The service was alright. He was trying his best to be helpful but it was hectic and we were all just trying to figure out what was going on. The parking is decent; I mean, there is plenty of it but there is also cars coming from every which direction so it was kinda iffy at certain times.
The bottom line is, the chicken restaurant business is a competitive market. You absolutely have to offer a product that stands out and gives people a reason to pass all the other chicken restaurants on the way to your location. There are many ways to execute this; whether it be by offering better quality, more variety, cheaper pricing, or even something super simple like rewards to incentivize your customers. The bar is being set high for chicken restaurants in the area, and the more chicken restaurants we get, the higher the bar is going. You cannot lack in too many subcategories and you absolutely have to give people as many reasons as possible to want to choose you over everyone else. I don't think Dave's is there but I think they could be. They definitely need to start with making some menu upgrades.
Due to everything I just said in the last paragraph, I will likely choose some other places before Dave's. However, I will gladly keep my eye out to see if some things change and will definitely consider going back if something catches my attention.