Peter Ungerleider said nervous energy coursed through him as he waited for a colleague to unlock the doors and invite inside a line of people that had formed.
Dave’s Hot Chicken officially opens March 6, but Ungerleider, General Manager Adam Campos and visiting team trainer Jeff Fuerst, who also is the managing partner of the Tampa Bay-area locations, opted for a quiet opening at 11 a.m. March 5 at 7925 Dani Drive, off Six Mile Cypress Parkway. The restaurant sits in the southwest quadrant of the Colonial Boulevard and Interstate 75 intersection in the same shopping center as Chicken Salad Chick and Crumbl Cookies.
Dave’s Hot Chicken did no marketing that day but still drew a line of about 30 people. By noon, the restaurant was packed.
Elicha Michelle of Fort Myers first tried Dave’s Hot Chicken a couple of weeks earlier in Orlando. She was driving by the new Fort Myers location and noticed red, yellow and white balloons near the door. She became the restaurant’s first paying customer.
“I loved it,” said Michelle, who for $13.99 ordered combo No. 3: one tender and one slider with fries. Cheese fries, mac and cheese and kale slaw are the other sides on the menu, which also includes top-loaded shakes and Dave’s Bites, the chain’s variation of boneless wings. But the tenders are the draw.
“The tenders are crispy,” Michelle said. “Everything was fresh.”
The Fort Myers restaurant became the 403rd location nationwide for the chain, which began less than a decade ago.
Four friends with $900 launched a pop-up tent in 2017 in Los Angeles, selling fried chicken seasoned with a proprietary blend of spices.
The chain quickly grew. Roark Capital, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, paid $1 billion last year for the brand, adding it to a portfolio that also includes Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In and Jimmy John’s. Anytime Fitness and Orangetheory Fitness also are part of Roark’s portfolio.
Ungerleider, 42, is the managing partner of the Fort Myers location and could oversee as many as three additional restaurants in Southwest Florida that are in early planning stages, though no sites have been selected. Because he lives in North Naples, he said that area could be a logical next stop, depending on the success of the region’s first location.
“We’re really excited to be a part of the Fort Myers community,” Ungerleider said. “We’re excited to bring a product they haven’t had a chance to have here yet. We’ve heard stories of people driving all the way to Tampa to try Dave’s.”
Several Los Angeles graffiti artists were flown to Fort Myers to paint murals throughout the restaurant’s interior.
Dave’s Hot Chicken has developed a cult following. Ed Bevan of Cape Coral buys cars for a living and said he sometimes travels to Tampa to buy vehicles partly so he can visit Dave’s Hot Chicken locations there.
“One hundred percent I make the trip to the Tampa location specifically for Dave’s Hot Chicken,” said Bevan, who ordered medium sliders. “I love it. I love that we have one here now.”
Matt Dunwoody celebrated his seventh anniversary working for Rice Insulation & Glass. His supervisor offered to buy him lunch anywhere that day, and he chose Dave’s Hot Chicken.
“We’ve been anticipating this for a long time,” Dunwoody said. Noting the line snaking through the restaurant resembled a theme park ride, he added: “It’s better than Disney World.
“I love fried chicken, and I love spicy food. And the cool thing is, they make milk shakes, as well.”
Ungerleider hired 67 employees to launch the Fort Myers restaurant. In addition to being the managing partner, he also serves as assistant manager and reports to Campos.
“I’m here to answer to him and to back him up with whatever he needs,” said Ungerleider, who began working in restaurants at age 18 as a dishwasher. He later worked in Aspen, Colorado, as a ski and snowboarding instructor while managing Jimmy’s All-American, a downtown Aspen restaurant that generated millions of dollars in annual sales before the owner retired and closed it.
Ungerleider later relocated with his wife and two children to the Naples area without knowing what he would do next. At the birthday party of Adam Lieberman’s daughter a couple of years ago, they struck up a conversation. Adam Lieberman and his brother Ian Lieberman own For the Brand Services, which holds Dave’s Hot Chicken franchising rights in Tampa.
“Two birthday parties later, we have a restaurant,” Ungerleider said. “Dave’s Hot Chicken is really good at saying, ‘Here’s the recipe. Now cook the meal.’
“It’s a pretty special moment. Long time coming. Two-year process to this point of having our first guest served at Dave’s Hot Chicken in Fort Myers. So, a great day for us.”
