Is Dave’s Hot Chicken Opening in Grandville Before Grand Rapids?

West Michigan has had some pretty exciting fast food news recently! Hot 'N Now made its triumphant return, opening last fall in Wayland. The first Raising Cane's opened up on 28th Street, and even more are on the way. A Shake Shack is plotted in Kentwood by Woodland Mall...

Dave's Hot Chicken Expands into West Michigan

And recently we told you that Grand Rapids would be getting West Michigan's first Dave's Hot Chicken. The spicy chicken chain will be opening a location on 28th Street in a former Wendy's near Centerpoint Mall.

That alone was enough to get local chicken fans pumped!

But is a second spot already quietly in the works? Signs are pointing to another Dave's Hot Chicken opening up in Grandville, and wild enough, it looks like this second location might actually open first.

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What Makes Dave’s Hot Chicken So Popular?

If you haven't been following the hype, Dave's started back in 2017 as a tiny street-food setup in a Los Angeles parking lot. Fast forward a few years, add some big celebrity investors like Drake, and it blew up into one of the fastest-growing fast-food chains in the country.

Dave's Hot Chicken via Facebook

On the menu you find jumbo Nashville-style chicken tenders and sliders with seven different spice levels, from "No Spice" all the way up to "Reaper". Add in crinkle-cut fries, mac and cheese, milkshakes, and their giant crispy "Hot Mozz" fried mozzarella planks, and you get why people go crazy for it.

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Michigan’s very first location opened in Dearborn in 2021. Metro Detroit got a bunch more after that, but until now, the furthest west you could go to get it was East Lansing.

Is Dave’s Hot Chicken Opening in Grandville MI?

So why do we think Grandville is getting in on the action? A local sleuth on Reddit recently spotted a physical Dave’s Hot Chicken sign posted on a building right by the Target on 44th Street. The post notes it appears that the new restaurant in Grandville could beat Grand Rapids to the finish line.

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Naturally, I had to do a little digging.

First, I checked Google Maps, and sure enough, a pin for Dave's Hot Chicken is already live at 3136 44th St SW.

Now, if you go look at the official Dave’s Hot Chicken website, a Grandville spot isn't listed on their "Coming Soon" map yet. But then again, neither is the Grand Rapids location.

However, on a post in the Grandville, Wyoming, Byron Center Informed Facebook group, multiple locals say they have driven by the spot on 44th and have seen the signs as well.

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So I'd say at this point, it does look like a Dave’s Hot Chicken is coming to Grandville— and we might be eating tenders on 44th Street sooner than we thought.

Have you driven past the Bucktown center lately? Let us know if you’ve seen work starting inside!