First mid-Michigan Dave's Hot Chicken opens in East Lansing

Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal
·1 min read
The area's first Dave's Hot Chicken restaurant opens at 11 a.m. Thursday in the city's downtown.
The area's first Dave's Hot Chicken restaurant opens at 11 a.m. Thursday in the city's downtown.

EAST LANSING — The area's first Dave's Hot Chicken restaurant is conducting a soft opening, beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday in the city's downtown.

The location, at 194 Albert Ave. below Newman Lofts, is the state's sixth Dave's Hot Chicken. The California-based fast-casual restaurant chain, founded in 2017, is known for its chicken tenders, served "as is" or in slider sandwiches. Staff season them with varying degrees of spice.

The restaurant employs nearly 100 staff, said Michael Ansley, CEO and managing member at Hot North Chicken LLC, the franchise owner. The restaurant hosted a sneak peek Wednesday night.

"Last night, we had our friends and family and we had to turn a lot of people away," he said. "So far, it looks like a pretty good response."

The eatery's grand opening is scheduled for Friday, coinciding with a forecasted winter storm that could bring 6 to 12 inches of snow to the Lansing region and wind gusts of up to 50 mph.

Ansley said the storm is a concern, but the restaurant offers delivery through third-party businesses, including DoorDash and Uber Eats.

"At the other locations we have in Michigan, we do a lot of third-party delivery and carry out so that might actually be good for us as long as we don't lose our power," he said.

Ansley said the 2,600-square-foot storefront will cater to Michigan State University students and offers seating for up to 40 people.

Hot North Chicken owns all of Michigan's Dave's Hot Chicken locations, including those in Warren, Troy, Southfield, Howell and Dearborn. The franchise company opened its first in October 2021, Ansley said.

Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .

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This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Dave's Hot Chicken opens first area location in East Lansing