Kris Humphries’ Dave’s Chicken Hits 30 Minnesota Spots

Early Restaurant Ventures Before Retirement

Kris Humphries began looking for investment opportunities while the NBA was still his day job, choosing to put money into Five Guys during the 2008 housing crash. The former power forward and his family built ten Five Guys restaurants across Minnesota and Wisconsin, and he also became the first franchise partner for Crisp & Green. By 2020 the family owned ten Five Guys locations and operated Crisp & Green spots in Maple Grove, St. Paul and the Dinkytown area near the University of Minnesota. In his 2019 retirement essay Humphries said he had opened ten Five Guys franchises and was preparing to roll out seven Crisp & Green restaurants throughout the Midwest.

Ten to Thirty: The Dave’s Hot Chicken Partnership

In April 2022 Humphries and his relatives William, Debra and Alex signed a ten‑location deal with Dave’s Hot Chicken for the Twin Cities and surrounding counties, including Carver, Washington, Hennepin and Ramsey. The first Minnesota Dave’s opened across from Ridgedale Center in Minnetonka in June 2023, close to the Hopkins High School where Humphries played before college. A September 2025 report from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal revealed the agreement had been extended to cover up to 30 locations across the state. The family’s expansion now includes Rochester, Oak Park Heights, North Loop, Coon Rapids and St. Cloud, giving them room to keep growing beyond the initial wave.

• Minnetonka – First Dave’s Hot Chicken location (June 2023)
• Rochester – Opened June 2025, first site outside the Twin Cities
• Oak Park Heights – Listed at 5910 Neal Avenue N., the family’s eighth spot
• North Loop – One of the markets earmarked for future development
• Coon Rapids & St. Cloud – Additional markets in the expanded agreement

Expanding Across the State

After the Minnetonka launch, the Humphries family continued to open new Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurants in the Twin Cities area, steadily adding locations that serve the local market. The Rochester opening in June 2025 pushed the brand beyond the Twin Cities for the first time, and recent social posts confirm an eighth site in Oak Park Heights. The broader deal gives the group the flexibility to pursue further sites throughout Minnesota, reflecting a deliberate effort to keep the brand rooted in the state where Humphries was born.

Life After the NBA and the Spotlight

Kris Humphries played his final NBA season in 2017 and announced his retirement in 2019, using that essay to address the turbulence caused by his 72‑day marriage to Kim Kardashian. He wrote that the attention left him dealing with anxiety and emphasized that the relationship had been real to him, distancing himself from the reality‑TV glare. The restaurant work he had already started with Five Guys and Crisp & Green became the centerpiece of his post‑basketball life, a focus he has maintained while staying largely out of celebrity coverage. At 41 Humphries continues to appear at openings and promote the family’s Dave’s Hot Chicken locations, keeping the business close to his Minnesota roots.

The Humphries Family Behind the Franchise

The Dave’s Hot Chicken partnership is a family effort that includes William, Debra and Alex Humphries alongside Kris Humphries. Together they have turned the original ten‑store agreement into a statewide rollout that now targets up to 30 restaurants. Their combined experience in franchising—spanning Five Guys, Crisp & Green and now Dave’s—helps explain why the brand is expanding quickly across Minnesota. The family’s hands‑on approach is evident at each new opening, where they promote the chicken concept and engage with local customers.

From early investments during his playing career to a statewide hot‑chicken empire, Kris Humphries has built a restaurant operation that stays firmly rooted in Minnesota while reaching beyond the Twin Cities. The evolution from ten to thirty locations showcases the family’s strategic growth and commitment to the state that shaped his youth. As the franchise continues to open new spots, Humphries remains focused on the day‑to‑day work of serving communities rather than seeking the celebrity spotlight that once defined his public image.