What everyone thought was another entertainment offering by Shaquille O’Neal turned out to be something more. Big Chicken Shaq the reality show was the heralding of the NBA legend’s newest business venture – Big Chicken Shaq. A multi-faceted entrepreneur, O’Neal had already established at least 172 restaurants in his business portfolio. Then what sets Big Chicken Shaq apart from the restaurants under the ‘Big Diesel’ umbrella? The reason apparently starts close to home.

The spirit of the Big Chicken empire originates from Shaq’s childhood, family, his love for food, and very specific preferences. Combined with the trendy appeal and his star power, fans flock to the nearest Big Chicken for Shaq and stay for the food.

The Big Chicken origin story

Through a Facebook Watch reality series, Shaquille O’Neal launched the first of his popular restaurant franchise, Big Chicken Shaq, in Las Vegas, on October 23, 2018, together with JRS Hospitality and Authentic Brands Group. JRS includes O’Neal’s agent among other founding partners. It’s grown to 18 franchises in multiple cities and in sports arenas with rapid expansion plans to open around 300 new locations.

O’Neal already had experience in the fast-casual dining business. He invested in the Five Guys Burgers and has about 155 Five Guys franchises in his portfolio. He sits on the board of directors of Papa John’s and has about nine franchises. So that begged many to ask why the 4x NBA champion put his star power into a completely new restaurant business.

Because you can’t tell the Shaq story when the other guys already have their own. The Big Chicken Shaq menu is nostalgia-driven from the meals O’Neal grew up on to his love for the ’80s. Bringing the hearty yesteryear home-style food to the 2020s – e.g. the crispy chicken topped with mac & cheese with crispy onions and roasted garlic BBQ aioli – makes the menu addictive before you remember the celebrity behind it.

While a certain someone on Inside the NBA would claim O’Neal puts his name on everything, he gave characters and identities to every item on the menu. The Uncle Jerome is inspired and named after his hot-sauce-loving bodyguard. There’s also the Charles Barkley named after his frenemy on TNT.

Calling himself a “weird eater,” O’Neal clashed with JRS chef, Matthew Silverman, on every aspect of creating the menu “Shaq’s way.” Little peeves like keeping things separate in a dish that many of us can relate to. But the most heartrending part of the Big Chicken menu is its connection to the Lakers star’s mom, Lucille O’Neal.

The Shaq take on the humble chicken sandwich is the heart of the menu, and the recipes came from Lucille. As he said during the opening of the Houston location, “This is my creation – excuse me, this is my mama’s creation. Coming where we come from, me and this little guy had to eat chicken a lot.”

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Lucille overcame her own struggles to be present in O’Neal and his siblings’ lives. Celebrating her recipes through the Big Chicken success shows it’s all more than just one 7-foot giant behind it all.

Big Chicken’s national domination plans

Big Chicken Shaq only entered the franchising business in 2021, but it’s a huge factor in the expansion plans outlined by O’Neal and his business partners. They brought Josh Halpern on as CEO to kick-start their multi-unit aspirations.

O’Neal, who has learned a lot as a franchisee with Five Guys, wanted to make Big Chicken a franchisee-first company. “Relationships are always important to me,” O’Neal said about meeting his franchisees. Profits are secondary to him. It’s the people and “bringing something new” to the table.

He can proudly claim Big Chicken created “our own playbook” for franchising. The franchisees are going full steam ahead. The restaurant group is signing deals in multiple states to open dozens of locations by 2024 with at least 300 in development.

O’Neal and his partners are also eager to put a drive-thru concept into action soon. A challenge given the longer prep time most of the menu takes. But the Big Aristotle has big confidence they’ll make it work.

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Coming out of the darkest times the restaurant business has endured globally due to the pandemic, O’Neal got first-hand experience in adapting. Big Chicken Shaq franchises made it through it stronger than ever. Which proves, whether the NBA court or the chicken business, Shaquille O’Neal will remain a tough opponent.