The eastside to get its first taste of Dave’s Hot Chicken Credit: Dave's Hot Chicken

Dave’s Hot Chicken, the L.A.-based hot chicken chain making moves throughout the Midwest, opens its new Fairview Park location (3120 Westgage Mall) on Friday. This will be the second Northeast Ohio outpost (Lakewood opened in January), with an Ohio City restaurant still to come.

Diners can look forward to a concise menu of fried chicken tenders and tender sliders, offered in seven different spice levels that climb to the dreaded “reaper.” Those items are joined by sides like crinkle-cut fries, kale slaw and mac and cheese.

Dave’s launched as a street-food concept in Los Angeles in 2017. The streamlined menu of Nashville-style hot chicken drew many fans and before long the company secured investors and expanded throughout California, Toronto, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado and Texas. The Cleveland locations are part of a big Midwest push for the brand. Columbus alone is expected to net 13 locations.

This article appears in Jun 15-28, 2022.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.