In the late 20-teens, the nation was hot for Nashville hot chicken.
On the West Coast, in Los Angeles, a group of friends were setting up a parking lot popup that became Dave’s Hot Chicken.
Around the same time on the East Coast, another group of co-founders, in New Haven, Connecticut, were building a concept called Haven Hot Chicken.
Dave’s story is well known. It became one of the fastest growing restaurant chains with franchising, and, after just eight years of growth, was sold to Roark Capital in a deal valued at $1 billion.
Haven Hot Chicken, meanwhile, took a different path, said Etkin Tekin, CEO and co-founder.
The goal was to create a brand that was fast-casual, but with premium positioning, he said. The chicken, for example, is vegetarian-fed and raised without antibiotics. And it’s certified Halal.
The sandwiches are made with chicken breasts, rather than tenders, which are marinated and double fried for an audible crunch, said Tekin. The promise is chicken that is “crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, and delicious,” or CCJSD.
“We have it on T-shirts," said Tekin.
The sauces are all made in-house. (The house sauce is called Rob Sauce, after co-founder Rob LaTronica, chief quality officer.)
Opening the first in 2020 amid the pandemic, the group grew the brand to nine company-owned units around Connecticut. Initially, they had no interest in franchising, fearing that outside operators might dilute quality.
But then they met Peter.
Peter Cancro, that is, who was at the time CEO and owner of Jersey Mike’s. (Cancro sold the sandwich chain to private-equity firm Blackstone in 2024.)
Tekin and his co-founders were introduced to Cancro by a Jersey Mike’s franchisee, who later became one of the first to franchise Haven Hot Chicken.
The Haven crew spent about two years being mentored by Cancro and the Jersey Mike’s operating team getting guidance on how to grow the brand, Tekin said.
One of the first things they learned: Establish values and stick to them, said Tekin.
Haven set seven core values at the heart of the brand: Being inclusive, joyful, rigorous, teamwork, relentless, humble, and positive. (Jersey Mike’s also has seven core principles.)
But perhaps the biggest unlock was picking up the way Cancro spoke of his brand’s operators.
“Peter always said, ‘I don’t have franchisees. I have owner-operators,’” said Tekin.
That mindset shift made Haven Hot Chicken’s founders feel differently about franchising, and they decided to go for it, filing to franchise in early 2025.
But that meant working to find the best possible operators, said Tekin, who, like Cancro, does not call them franchisees.
“We do get asked, ‘What’s your growth strategy?’ Our No. 1 objective is to find the best owner-operators possible and to grow with them,” he said. “We have an operator-first growth mindset.”
Jersey Mike’s, for example, is known for requiring franchise operators to go through intensive training. Haven, likewise, has developed a robust eight-week training course, led by LaTronica on-site, along with a digital learning management system.
And, like Jersey Mike’s, Haven puts priority on developing people from within, with several people now on the corporate team having started as store-level workers, Tekin said.
And, so far, the chicken brand appears to be catching the eye of Jersey Mike’s franchisees.
To date, Haven Hot Chicken has awarded 33 franchise units. There’s a 10-unit deal in Connecticut, a 10-unit deal in Massachusetts, and a 10-unit deal in North Carolina.
Another three-unit deal for Western Massachusetts was announced this week.
Perhaps not coincidentally, all of Haven’s franchise operators so far are multi-unit Jersey Mike’s operators.
But it’s not like Haven was designed solely for Jersey Mike’s operators to diversify their portfolio, said Tekin.
“We found a phenomenal group of operators within Jersey Mike’s,” he said. “But we are certainly open to other people who believe in what we’re doing.”
Tendies at Haven Hot Chicken. | Photo courtesy of Haven Hot Chicken.
Tekin and his co-founders, meanwhile, are very much like Cancro as young, ambitious entrepreneurs. Cancro, of course, famously started Jersey Mike’s after buying a sub shop at age 17 (with the help of a loan from his football coach).
Tekin started his first restaurant in between his junior and senior years at Yale. It was a salad concept that grew to two units and a food truck. He later sold it.
Haven co-founder and President Jason Sobocinski also founded the cheese shop Caseus Provisions in Wallingford, Connecticut. Co-founder Craig Sklar, Haven’s CIO, founded a gastropub called The Beer Collective.
All of them are now focused on Haven Hot Chicken, which Tekin said has an average unit volume ranging between $1.6 million to $2.2 million. The sweet spot for size of units appears to be between 1,400 to 1,600 square feet. The average check is in the mid-$20 range.
Also like Jersey Mike’s, Haven Hot Chicken is community focused. With the sale of each Banana Pudding dessert, for example, the equivalent cost of a meal is donated to a local food bank.
The hot chicken market is crowded. Other similar concepts include Angry Chickz, Houston TX Hot Chicken, Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken & Wings and more.
Tekin feels the quality of the product will ultimately be the differentiator for Haven Hot Chicken.
“Our dream is to build a brand on a foundation of hospitality, quality and community, and finding like-minded people,” said Tekin.