Usher Opens Georgia's First Dave's Hot Chicken Restaurant: 'I'm Excited'

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Usher brings Dave's Hot Chicken in his hometown. The R&B star opened the restaurant's first Georgia location in Conyers, an Atlanta suburb, on Thursday (August 30).

Although Usher did not attend the opening (he is currently on tour), the celebration included a drone show created by Sky Elements. Usher owns the restaurant along with franchise partners Lawrence Kourie and Andrew Feghali, two of Dave's Hot Chicken's longest-serving franchisees.

“As soon as I tried Dave's Hot Chicken and spoke with the founders of the brand, I knew I wanted to be involved with the company,” Usher said in a statement. “I'm excited to open Atlanta's first Dave's Hot Chicken and can't wait for everyone from my hometown to try it.”

“Dave's Hot Chicken continues to gain traction from coast to coast, from our passionate guests to international superstars,” added CEO Bill Phelps. “Our focus remains on making the tastiest, hottest and juiciest hot chicken on the planet, and we're excited to partner with Usher to bring Dave's to Georgia.”

The grand opening included a live DJ and free food. Dave's Hot Chicken menu includes Hot Chicken Sliders and Hot Chicken Tenders available in seven spice levels ranging from no spice to Reaper, the hottest level, in addition to Kale Slaw, creamy macaroni and cheese and crispy, seasoned crinkle fries. The brand also recently launched Dave's Bites available without spice, medium and hot.

Dave's Hot Chicken is available for delivery on DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats.

“The number one thing is that the chicken is so good,” said Dave's Hot Chicken President Jim Bitticks. Bulletin board at the opening. “And the spice, I don't know how to describe it, except to say it's really balanced. Sometimes you taste something that's spicy and there's too much or not enough of it. [Dave’s Hot Chicken] it's perfect, right in the middle.”

“The founders grew up eating a lot of In-N-Out Burger, so the inspiration for Dave's is In-N-Out meets Howlin Rays [Hot Chicken]Bitticks continued.

Dave co-founder Arman Oganesyan was also in attendance along with Phelps and Conyers store owner Lawrence Kourie.

Meanwhile, it's been a busy month for Usher who kicked off his Past, Present and Future tour in Washington last week. The tour stops in Philadelphia tonight and tomorrow, followed by two nights in Toronto, Canada starting September 2nd.