Big Dave’s founder on launching a successful cheesesteak chain out of a gas station
Take-Away with Sam Oches
Nation's Restaurant News
4.9 • 17 Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Derrick Hayes, the founder and CEO of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, a nine-unit franchise that has plans to become the next big thing in cheesesteaks. A native of West Philadelphia, Derrick opened the first location 11 years ago inside a Dunwoody, Georgia, gas station, turning it into a cult favorite with hours-long lines. His big break came when rapper and actress Eve visited Big Dave’s and shared about it on her social channels, catapulting the brand to national renown and the opportunity to franchise. He joined the podcast to talk about the determination and patience that were key to setting Big Dave’s up for success, and about how his marriage to fellow restaurateur Pinky Cole has given him a fresh perspective in scaling a restaurant business.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- Your best chance at success is when you have an underlying purpose
- Humble beginnings create strong foundations upon which you can build your business
- Your big break could come at any moment — and you have to be ready for it
- Patience is paramount to growing your business the way it deserves
Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast for leaders of growing restaurant companies looking |
| 0:05.3 | to take their businesses to the next level. In nearly two decades covering restaurants, I've gained |
| 0:10.8 | access to some of this industry's most influential decision makers, and I'm letting you in on the |
| 0:15.8 | conversations. In today's episode, you'll hear from an entrepreneur who successfully started a growing |
| 0:21.6 | cheese steak empire out of a suburban Atlanta gas station, and you'll find out how you can |
| 0:27.7 | capitalize on a bright spotlight when it shines your way. Derek Hayes is the founder and |
| 0:33.0 | CEO of Big Dave's Cheese Stakes, a nine-unit franchise that has plans to become the next big thing in |
| 0:39.8 | cheese steaks. A native of West Philadelphia, Derek opened Big Dave's 11 years ago inside a |
| 0:46.3 | Dunwoody, Georgia gas station, turning it into a cult favorite with hours-long lines. His big break |
| 0:53.3 | came when rapper and actress Eve visited Big |
| 0:56.5 | Dave's and shared about it on her social channels, catapulting the brand to national |
| 1:00.8 | renown and franchise opportunities. But don't confuse Big Dave's big moment for dumb luck. Derek had |
| 1:09.0 | meticulously designed the restaurant to be able to meet that moment, |
| 1:12.8 | and the restaurant's high-quality product and service ensured that when the masses showed up, |
| 1:17.6 | it would not be their last visit to Big Dave's. Derek joined the podcast to talk about the |
| 1:22.5 | determination and patience that were key to setting Big Dave's up for success and about how his marriage to |
| 1:29.4 | fellow restaurateur Pinky Cole has given him a fresh perspective on scaling a restaurant business. |
| 1:35.3 | In this conversation, you will learn more about why your best chance as success is when you |
| 1:40.0 | have an underlying purpose, how humble beginnings create strong foundations upon which you can |
| 1:46.0 | build your business, and why patience is paramount to grow in your business in the way it deserves. |
| 1:52.2 | If you learn something from this episode, go follow takeaway wherever you listen to podcasts and |
| 1:57.1 | leave some feedback. It is the best way to get that lesson to a fellow restaurant leader. |
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