Dave's Hot Chicken Appoints Brandon Rhoten as Chief Marketing Officer to Ignite Brand's Next Era of Growth

Fast-Casual Brand Strengthens Its Leadership Bench to Advance Bold, Culture-Driven Marketing

PASADENA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dave's Hot Chicken, the fastest-growing Nashville-style hot chicken sensation from Los Angeles, has announced Brandon Rhoten as the company's new Chief Marketing Officer.

Rhoten joins Dave's Hot Chicken with a proven track record of elevating bold, high-growth concepts. He was introduced to the brand during his most recent role with the advertising platform GroundTruth, where he served as Chief Marketing Officer and helped restaurants and other brands drive traffic through targeted media. Prior to that, he served as Chief Marketing Officer of Potbelly, where he helped reverse declining traffic by refining the brand's positioning and modernizing its digital engagement. Earlier in his career, he spent six years leading creative and social strategy at Wendy's. His marketing career began on the agency side before he joined Wendy's to build the brand's digital marketing capabilities.

"From the moment I started working with the Dave's team, I knew the brand was something special," said Rhoten. "Dave's Hot Chicken has the exact DNA where I've historically done my best work. It's a bold, social-led brand with great food, strong operations, and a willingness to take risks. My goal is to help bring that spirit onto bigger stages while staying true to what made people fall in love with Dave's in the first place."

Across his career, Rhoten has championed bold creative strategies, digital innovation, and culture-shaping storytelling. At Dave's Hot Chicken, he will oversee all aspects of brand marketing, creative strategy, digital and social engagement, media, and long-term brand growth. His early priorities include identifying core traffic drivers, deepening the brand's social and digital foundation, and building test-and-learn programs to accelerate reach and relevance.

"We have built a world-class team of franchisees and support staff, and Brandon is an incredible addition to our team," said Bill Phelps, CEO of Dave's Hot Chicken. "His experience building culturally relevant brands and driving real results will be invaluable as Dave's continues its rapid growth across the United States and internationally."

Dave's Hot Chicken has captured the hearts and taste buds of guests across the United States with its crave-worthy menu. Specializing in Nashville-style hot chicken tenders, sliders, and bites with spice levels ranging from "No Spice" to "Reaper," each restaurant also serves sides of house-made Kale Slaw, creamy Mac & Cheese, and crispy, seasoned Fries or Cheese Fries.

Founded by Arman Oganesyan and classically trained chef Dave Kopushyan, along with brothers Tommy and Gary Rubenyan in early 2017, Dave's Hot Chicken initially opened as a parking lot pop-up, with lines quickly wrapping around the block. Dave's Hot Chicken offers a robust business model, including national and local marketing support, proven systems, manuals, operating procedures, and assistance with site selection.

To learn more about Dave's Hot Chicken and its franchise opportunities, visit www.daveshotchicken.com/franchising.

About Dave's Hot Chicken
In a modern-day American dream story, three childhood friends, Chef Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan and Tommy Rubenyan, scraped together $900 to launch Dave's Hot Chicken in a parking lot, portable fryers and folding tables in tow, in 2017. Dave's Hot Chicken quickly took off, opening an East Hollywood brick-and-mortar restaurant shortly after, with support from Tommy's brother, Gary. In 2019, the team struck a deal with Wetzel's Pretzels co-founder and former CEO, Bill Phelps, and movie producer John Davis to begin franchising the Dave's Hot Chicken concept throughout the U.S. and beyond. The company has sold the rights to more than 1,020 franchise locations in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Canada and will open 70-plus locations this year. Harkening back to an Eater LA blog that helped propel early interest in the brand, the company's mission is to "blow their minds." Additional brand investors include Billboard Artists Drake and Usher, former California First Lady Maria Shriver, actor Samuel L. Jackson, and Good Morning America anchor and retired NFL player Michael Strahan. 

SOURCE Dave's Hot Chicken