Who Owns Dave’s Hot Chicken in 2026?
The brand’s owner, its founders, its CEO and the operator of a local restaurant are different roles.
Roark is the private equity owner behind Dave’s Hot Chicken following the 2025 transaction. The founders, company leadership and franchise operators have separate roles. Jim Bitticks is identified as CEO in the company’s October 2026 announcement. Calling any one person “the owner” can hide those distinctions.
Roark lists Dave’s Hot Chicken in its portfolio. Dave’s announced its Roark investment on June 2, 2025. Those sources establish the relationship, but they do not provide a complete current ownership percentage for every individual investor.
What the public sources confirm about Roark
Roark’s current portfolio includes Dave’s Hot Chicken and describes it as a franchisor of Nashville-style hot-chicken restaurants. This is a direct source for the brand’s place within Roark’s investments.
Dave’s June 2, 2025 announcement presented the Roark investment as its next growth chapter. It also said the leadership team and founders would continue working on the business.
That means an ownership transaction and continued founder involvement can both be true. New investment does not automatically mean every original founder leaves, and a founder remaining involved does not mean that person owns the whole company.
The complete current breakdown of individual holdings is not set out in the reviewed announcements. Do not fill that gap with an invented percentage for a founder, executive or celebrity investor.
The main roles at a glance
| Role | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Investment owner | Roark’s relationship with the Dave’s brand following the 2025 deal |
| Founders | The people credited with starting and developing the early business |
| CEO | The executive leading the company, identified as Jim Bitticks in October 2026 |
| Other investors | People with an investment connection, without assuming sole control |
| Franchise operator | The business operating a particular restaurant under the brand |
These roles can overlap. An executive can also be an investor, and a franchise operator can own more than one restaurant. The title alone does not tell you the size of someone’s holding or the ownership of every local store.
Who founded Dave’s Hot Chicken?
The brand credits Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan and brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan in its founding story. Its account begins with the early East Hollywood pop-up and describes Gary’s support as the business moved beyond that stage.
That history is different from the later Roark relationship. Dave’s began in 2017, so the 2025 transaction was not the founding event. The brand history guide follows those stages without treating every later participant as an original founder.
A familiar name in the company’s advertising or story may be a founder rather than the current sole owner. It is more accurate to describe the verified role than to use owner as a catch-all title.
Who runs the company in 2026?
Dave’s October 8, 2026 company announcement identifies Jim Bitticks as CEO. That provides a more current leadership reference than a 2025 transaction story.
The June 2025 announcement named Bill Phelps as CEO at that time. Reading that older title as a current answer would mix two dates. Leadership articles need a publication date and a clear account of which period they describe.
A CEO leads the business but is not automatically its only shareholder. Likewise, a change in CEO does not by itself establish a change in investment ownership. Check the specific announcement rather than assuming those events are the same.
Does Drake own Dave’s Hot Chicken?
The October 2026 company announcement lists Drake among the brand’s investors. That supports describing an investment connection. It does not support calling him the founder or sole owner of the chain.
The reviewed public sources do not give a complete current personal stake for Drake. Avoid repeating an exact percentage unless a reliable disclosure establishes it. A promotion featuring a celebrity also does not tell you how much of a company that person owns.
Keep a celebrity giveaway separate from a continuing menu offer. If you are looking for a current promotion rather than ownership information, use the offer-checking guide and review the actual dates and terms.
Does sharing an investor mean another restaurant operates Dave’s?
Roark’s portfolio includes several restaurant investments. That does not mean one restaurant brand is the same business as another, or that its local team handles Dave’s orders.
For example, seeing two familiar brands associated with one investment firm is not enough to conclude that their gift cards, menus or reward accounts work together. Those products have their own terms and participating locations.
Use the Dave’s gift-card guide and app and rewards information for those practical questions. A shared investment connection should not replace the terms of the service you are using.
Who owns the restaurant near you?
A brand-level ownership answer does not identify the legal operator of every franchise location. If you need to know which business runs a particular restaurant, ask that location or use the operator information supplied through its official channels.
For a missing item, refund question or pickup issue, start with the restaurant or ordering provider responsible for the purchase. An investment firm’s corporate contact is not a substitute for the order’s service route.
The online-ordering guide and location guide can help identify the right branch and order channel.
Read ownership claims with a date and a role
The clearest current answer is Roark at the investment level, with Jim Bitticks identified as CEO in the latest company source reviewed here. Founder and celebrity-investor roles remain separate from sole ownership. For the food itself, use the Dave’s Hot Chicken menu. For future ownership changes, look for a new dated transaction or company announcement rather than recycling an older headline.
Considering the restaurant business rather than brand ownership? The franchise costs and requirements guide separates the published investment range from asset thresholds and the multi-store commitment.
