I have tasted the reaper and lived to tell about it — the Carolina Reaper Tender at Dave’s Hot Chicken, that is. It’s the chicken so hot you have to sign a waiver when you order it. And it is fire. I’m talking literally, not metaphorically, although those of you out there who are into that scorched tastebud experience can take it in the full sense of the slang. For me, one bite was enough to light a fire that had me sweating, drinking and trying anything to kickstart a cooldown.
It makes me feel a little better that Jay Hafemeister, owner of the local Dave’s franchises, is sweating and eye-watering right along with me. I met him in Fountain at the third and newest location of Dave’s Hot Chicken for its grand opening in October. The Nashville hot chicken started in Los Angeles and has quickly been spreading across the country. Hafemeister opened the first local outpost in 2023 at Interquest. The Barnes and Powers location also opened this year in August.
“The food is the star because the chicken is just so flavorful and so good,” Hafemeister says. “But I also think it has to do with the music and the unique graffiti artwork. It just all together has that package that makes it more culturally relevant.”
Hafemeister’s family has owned and operated restaurants in Colorado Springs since 1976 when his father got started as a franchisee. It was Jay who reached out to Dave’s Hot Chicken to bring the concept to the Springs, and he also pushed to bring a third location to Fountain, seeing it as a great fit with the local military community.
“We own another restaurant, Carl’s Jr., in Fountain, and the community is really supportive,” he says. “So we were eager to bring more great food options down here. Also, our other two Dave’s Hot Chicken locations are up north and out east, and we’ve had a lot of people ask us to bring it to the south end of town, so here we are.”
The menu centers on large chicken Tenders, Sliders and smaller Bites. “The Dave’s #3 is the fan favorite for sure as it allows our guests to try both the tender on its own and a slider in one meal with a side of fries,” Hafemeister says.
The spice levels range from No Spice (actually quite tasty on its own) up to Reaper with five levels in between. My favorite is medium in slider form. It delivers a comfortable slow burn cooled by the potato bun and kale slaw. Hot takes it over the top for my comfort, although following Hafemeister’s pro tip balances out the heat: adding honey for a sweet spicy blend.
Hafemeister says that his employees slurry, brine and flour their chicken in-house each day, and they don’t fry it until a customer enters the store. “Once it comes out of the fryer, we put it in a Nashville style oil wet rub, so it’s oil and spice mixed together,” he says. “We dip the tender quickly and then hand apply each spice level.”
Several of the new employees at the Fountain restaurant tell me they’ve quickly learned to have a healthy respect for the Reaper, even in prep and cleanup. I think they enjoy watching their boss and I sweat as we try it.
“We get a fair amount of guests trying the reaper spice level,” Hafemeister says. “It packs some serious heat and is not for the weak.”
I’ll attest to that.
You can find all three locations of Dave’s Hot Chicken at daveshotchicken.com.
