Deals
Rapper Drake Buys Stake in Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant Chain
- Company’s leadership team is same that developed Blaze Pizza
- Drake gives growing restaurant company added celebrity heft
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Drake, the Canadian hip-hop star, is taking a minority stake in Dave’s Hot Chicken, the fried-chicken chain that’s backed by investors such as Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner and actor Samuel L. Jackson.
Dave’s Hot Chicken is following a celebrity-driven playbook that’s similar to that of Blaze Pizza, which shares a leadership team with Dave’s and counts NBA superstar LeBron James as an investor. Launched in 2017, the chicken chain now has 22 locations mostly in California and is planning 25 more by the end of the year, with expansion to cities including Chicago and Houston. Drake, one of the world’s best-selling musicians, has already posted a picture of himself with chicken tenders, pickles and fries from Dave’s on Instagram.