How Dave’s Hot Chicken Improved Ticket Times and Order Accuracy to Drive Scalable Growth with Crunchtime Kitchen

Dave’s Hot Chicken is a fast-growing restaurant brand known for bold flavor, fresh prep, and a distinctive guest experience. The menu centers on hot chicken with a range of spice levels. Even the hottest options aim for great taste, not just heat. Inside the graffiti-adorned stores, friendly team members and a lively vibe make visits memorable.

With operational excellence as a core value, the company builds consistency through training, clear standards, and collaboration. That support helps franchisees deliver the experience guests expect, every time.

Gong cha Uses Crunchtime Ops Execution to Improve Task Completion, Guest Return Visits, and Brand Standards

Gong cha increased brand standards compliance and improved above-store oversight across its 400+ stores in North America with Ops Execution. The increased visibility and access to real-time data empowers leadership to make more informed decisions and will help scale its store and field operations teams as it adds 300+ U.S. locations in the next two years.

CHALLENGE

Preparing for Exponential Growth with Scalable Technology

Looking to invest in scalable systems, Dave’s Hot Chicken wanted to ensure efficiency and consistency as it opened more restaurants, making it critical to find a solution that could grow with the brand. As a result, the brand prioritized long-term scalability over short-term needs when choosing technology to back its rapid expansion.

“Restaurant technology plays a huge role in growth. With the right tech stack, you can grow exponentially faster. We focus on enterprise-grade technology that works not only for us now but will also support 1,000 stores and beyond.” - Leon Davoyan, Chief Technology Officer, Dave’s Hot Chicken

That mindset led the team to select Crunchtime Kitchen for its kitchen display system (KDS). The flexible design and rich feature set gave the company tools to handle immediate challenges, while also preparing for what comes next.

Crunchtime Kitchen has made a clear impact on order flow and accuracy. Even complex orders with special requests are flagged and prepared correctly, especially when it matters most during rushes.

An order-ready board has also improved the guest experience, especially for off-premise sales, which account for about 40 percent of the business. Drivers and online guests see their order status the moment they enter the store. That reduces congestion at the expo station and speeds service.

Flexibility has been another win, with Crunchtime Kitchen’s ability to be tailored to the brand’s unique workflow. That adaptability means the tech supports how teams already work without getting in the way. The result is fast, accurate production of fresh, high-quality food.

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SOLUTION

Real-time visibility and standardized operations for more compliance and efficiency in stores

Gong cha adopted Ops Execution to standardize operations and improve communication between stores, above-store teams, and headquarters. Rolling out the platform in phases, the team ensured smooth implementation and strong adoption. Gong cha’s success with Ops Execution stemmed from:

Store excellence guides: Gong cha created a comprehensive guide within Ops Execution to help managers prepare for third-party evaluations with visual aids and practice assessments.

Checklists and audits: Tasks like opening/closing procedures and food safety checks were standardized across all locations to ensure consistency and make it easier to track performance data from store to store.

National operations initiative calendar: To ensure execution against seasonal promotions, regional or market-specific projects, etc., Gong cha assigned tasks and projects in Ops Execution ahead of these initiatives so that stores could have visibility into upcoming work while also tracking how stores completed (or didn’t complete) the work.

Franchisee engagement: Franchisee and team engagement were also integral to success. Ops Execution forms helped align franchisees with performance goals, integrating compliance metrics into bonus structures to incentivize adoption. Additionally, interactive tools like the “Gong cha Great Values” form encouraged daily team member engagement and reinforced company values.

“With Ops Execution, Gong cha can easily track performance metrics, gather data from individual stores, and identify specific opportunities for improvement with more accuracy.”

Rebecca Kahn
Sr. Director of North America
Master Franchise Operations

Why this report is different

Industry Insights
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Instantly see how your operations stack up and identify precise areas for improvement to drive competitive advantage.

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RESULTS

Significant improvements in operational consistency, compliance, and decision-making

Within just the first year of rolling out Ops Execution, Gong cha improved operational performance in several key areas:

• 49% more daily tasks completed, demonstrating consistent execution of operational priorities and enhanced team accountability

• 20% better compliance with brand standards, ensuring a more uniform and high-quality experience across all locations

• 25% increase in guest return rates, reflecting stronger customer loyalty and consistent positive experiences across locations

• 20% increase in guest satisfaction, measured by Net Promoter Score (NPS), highlighting the impact of operational excellence on customer experiences

The data-driven insights provided by Ops Execution also empowered district managers to address operational weaknesses effectively. One franchisee—initially among the lowest performers—transformed into a top-three operator within only 90 days by following a customized action plan based on the insights from Ops Execution reports. This success illustrates the platform’s ability to drive meaningful and lasting improvements.

“Crunchtime Ops Execution was the right choice for us because it’s very easy to use, makes sense, and helps us standardize operations as we scale,” said Kahn. Gong cha’s commitment to operational excellence and brand integrity ensures that it will remain a leader in the competitive premium tea market.

RESULTS

Significant improvements in operational consistency, compliance, and decision-making

Within just the first year of rolling out Ops Execution, Gong cha improved operational performance in several key areas

49%

more daily tasks completed

demonstrating consistent execution of operational priorities and enhanced team accountability

20%

better compliance with brand standards

ensuring a more uniform and high-quality experience across all locations

25%

increase in guest return rates

reflecting stronger customer loyalty and consistent positive experiences across locations

20%

increase in guest satisfaction

measured by Net Promoter Score (NPS), highlighting the impact of operational excellence on customer experiences

RESULTS

Building a Flexible, Guest-Focused Future

Dave’s Hot Chicken leverages Crunchtime Kitchen’s flexibility to enhance the guest experience while maintaining tight operations. One example is a test of dynamic quote times at three locations. The goal is to match order-ready times with guest arrivals. Accurate wait times help guests plan, especially during busy periods, and reduce needless delays. This adaptability supports a guest- first approach.

“The kitchen display system is easy for our staff to use and highly efficient due to its stability. Past systems we used at Dave’s Hot Chicken often failed, with tickets not printing or delays in printing. With the kitchen display system, staff can be trained within minutes, and once they understand the buttons, it becomes second nature.” - Steven Odesma, Senior Manager of IT, Dave’s Hot Chicken

By shaping user interfaces with feedback from operations and training teams, the company keeps Crunchtime Kitchen intuitive for employees and aligned with real kitchen needs. It fits cleanly into existing processes, helping new team members learn quickly and perform with confidence.

Practical features like bump-to-print ensure the team can prioritize orders effectively, delivering food that is always fresh and hot. By unifying operations across the entire restaurant, the system boosts efficiency and reduces errors while significantly elevating the guest experience.

Staying Consistent to Protect Quality and Guest Experience

Dave’s Hot Chicken is growing quickly, and with that growth comes new challenges. Rush patterns shift, order volume rises, and staffing needs evolve. By choosing scalable technology, training teams effectively, and listening to field feedback, the brand addresses these challenges with clarity and care. With a simple and effective approach, Dave’s Hot Chicken can build for the long term, support people with tools they can trust, and stay focused on delivering great food.

As the company adds stores, it continues to fine-tune its KDS setup, test features that improve speed and accuracy, and share best practices across franchisees. The goal is not just to move faster; it is to maintain consistency, protect quality, and ensure every visit is smooth and personal.

With Crunchtime Kitchen providing a flexible, reliable foundation, Dave’s Hot Chicken is well-positioned for the next phase of growth while continuing to do what it does best: serving craveable hot chicken and pairing it with smart systems that make work easier for crews and better for guests.

"The most important thing about Crunchtime Kitchen is that it allows us to build the system around our operations. We’re able to put buttons where they need to be and get the system to work for us, allowing us to highlight items that deviate from the default order so that the production line knows that there’s something different.”

Leon Davoyan
Chief Technology Officer
Dave’s Hot Chicken

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