Dave’s Hot Chicken Accelerates AI and Automation Strategy as Growth Surges Past 300 Locations |

Dave's Hot Chicken was one of the breakout restaurant stories of the last decade, growing from a $900 parking lot pop-up in East Hollywood to a fast-casual chain with more than 300 locations, systemwide sales expected to be around $1.2 billion in 2025 and a $1 billion acquisition by Roark Capital. Now the Nashville-style spicy chicken brand is betting on artificial intelligence and automation as its next competitive weapon, a strategy recently highlighted in CIO Intelligence from Fortune by contributing author John Kell.

In this report, Kell details how Dave's Hot Chicken and its chief technology officer, Leon Davoyan, are advancing AI across the company: at the drive-thru, in mobile ordering, by orchestrating delivery, and even in the fry station, where robotic arms handle french fries. The company's technology stack is built on top of this Qua unified POS platform that installs an edge computing device in every store so orders and payments can continue even if cloud services fail. It's a prime example of a high-growth restaurant brand operating more like a large-scale enterprise IT shop, where resiliency, data and automation are now as central to the strategy as menu innovation and real estate.

Dave's is building additional technology on this foundation as part of its Dave's of the Future initiative, which has already won a franchise operations and technology award. The initiative includes AI-powered drive-thru voice ordering, a custom mobile app, digital menu boards and self-service kiosks GrubbrrKitchen display systems from QSR automationsdynamic quote time tools for delivery, Flybuy-supported order tracking and a robot fryer branded “French Fry Roboto” provided by Atosa. The goal is not to swap people for machines, but to relieve repetitive work, streamline operations and support a very aggressive development plan that could see the chain grow to or exceed 400 locations by the end of 2025 and continue to expand internationally.

Kell's reporting emphasizes that Davoyan and his team view AI as co-pilots, not replacements, for frontline workers. At the drive-thru, for example, automated voice ordering systems handle the complexity of menu combinations, changes, and routine upsell requests, while staff remains at the station to manage exceptions, interact with guests, and keep the lane moving. In the kitchen, robotic fryers and connected kitchen management systems focus on timing, consistency and safety, freeing staff to take care of plating, entertaining and other tasks that still require a human touch. Similar logic applies to kiosks and mobile ordering: the technology is designed to capture demand more cleanly, increase the average check, and reduce friction, not to destroy the brand's edgy, personality-driven service style.

The timing of Dave's AI push is no coincidence. Chicken-focused chains are among the fastest-growing segments of U.S. restaurants, with strong digital engagement and a steady stream of new concepts. Dave's has already become an industry leader in customer sentiment; Yelp recently named it the “most popular brand” in the US across all categories, putting it ahead of heavyweights like Chick-fil-A and McDonald's. In what some call the “chicken wars,” incremental operational gains from AI and automation—be it shaving seconds off service times, reducing error rates, or increasing average checks—can lead to real competitive advantages when multiplied across hundreds of high-volume locations.

The broader restaurant technology landscape makes it clear that Dave's isn't alone in embracing AI, but its approach is different. Wendy's has started its FreshAI systembuilt with Google Cloud to automate drive-through order acceptance, report faster service times and improve accuracy, with a plan to reach 500 to 600 locations by the end of 2025. Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, has reported millions of AI-fulfilled orders across its network, while White Castle has become an early pioneer in back-of-house robotics by deploying Miso Robotics' Flippy fryer systems. On the other hand, McDonald's decision in 2024 to discontinue its IBM-powered drive-thru AI pilot due to concerns about accuracy and guest experience has become a cautionary tale of rushed adoption before the underlying technology and operations are ready.

What sets Dave's strategy apart, as reflected in the CIO Intelligence post and supported by other public statements from Davoyan, is the integration of the technology program. Instead of treating voice AI, kiosks, robotics, delivery integrations and analytics as standalone experiments, the company is building on a cohesive architecture: Qu as a unified commerce backbone, QSR automations for real-time kitchen visibility, specialized tools like Curbit and Flybuy for off-premise orchestration, as well as edge devices in each unit to keep business-critical functions running during cloud disruptions. This holistic view is more similar to how corporate CIOs in other industries think about digital transformation than the ad hoc, “let’s control a gadget” mindset that still dominates many restaurant brands.

The impact on the rest of the restaurant industry is significant. CIOs and CFOs are under pressure to prove that AI investments do more than just grab headlines; They must deliver measurable productivity gains, new revenue and better customer outcomes. In restaurants, that means linking AI to clear KPIs: drive-thru throughput, average check, kitchen hours, food waste, guest satisfaction, loyalty engagement. Dave's first steps suggest a playbook in which AI agents and automation tools are deployed where they can most significantly complement human work and where the underlying data infrastructure is mature enough to support reliable performance at scale.

There are still questions unanswered. Voice AI remains controversial among guests in some markets, and high-profile glitches across multiple chains have sparked backlash on social media and concerns about over-automation. Robotics in the kitchen also increases capital costs and change management challenges for operators and franchisees. But for a growth brand like Dave's, whose fan base has demonstrated price stability and loyalty through rapid expansion, the trade-off seems acceptable if the technology can maintain speed, quality and consistency without compromising the brand's identity.

The takeaway is that AI in restaurants is moving beyond isolated pilot projects and becoming a central part of the operating model of a new generation of fast-growing brands. Dave's Hot Chicken offers a compelling case study of what happens when a chain builds a modern digital foundation early and then layers AI agents, automation and robotics on top of it in a disciplined and integrated manner. The story is now an important marker for restaurant IT and operations teams as they chart their own path through the AI ​​era.