After being a fast-food franchisee for years, Shaquille O’Neal decided to start from scratch. He put his starpower behind Big Chicken but he’s not the sole muscle behind it. To bring his mom’s recipes into a fast-casual dining experience, he needed some experts in the business. That’s where Big Chicken’s CEO, Josh Halpern and executive chef, Matt Silverman come in. ‘Chef Diesel’ gives major inputs in the creative and expansion side of the restaurant chain, but he depends on his partners to keep the ship sailing smoothly.

Josh Halpern came on board when O’Neal embarked on his aspirations to grow in the restaurant business. Under his management, Big Chicken has advanced rapidly from a dozen or so locations to 300 locations in development.

Shaquille O’Neal’s history with Josh Halpern

Big Chicken is the manifestation of Shaquille O’Neal bringing a smile on people’s faces with his mother, Lucille’s recipes. He opened its first store in Las Vegas in October 2018 in partnership with JRS Hospitality. JRS is not really a separate entity. The R is Perry Rogers, Shaq’s agent and the S is Matt Silverman, the coauthor of the cookbook, Shaq’s Family Style.

Big Chicken announced its franchise program in August 2021, bringing in Josh Halpern as CEO to lead it. Halpern had years of experience as a CPG brand-builder. He was a vice-president at Anheuser-Busch InBev when he was initially interacting with JRS. His background in the restaurant business spoke for itself, including branding for the Beer Park by Budweiser. He had a small stint with the brewing business, FIFCO, before Big Chicken hired him in May 2021.

O’Neal always had big aspirations for Big Chicken. It started with his love for a classic chicken sandwich which Silverman and his R&D team developed into a trendy menu with bold flavors. Besides expanding into multi-unit operations, he also wanted Big Chicken to be places you’d least expect it. Halpern is making it all happen.

From the start, Halpern knew there would be challenges as the founders at JRS and O’Neal as with any founder-led business bringing in an outside executive to “scale up the business.” Using a nifty analogy, Halpern said on the Turning Tables podcast, “I need to go to the founder and say, ‘Hey, I’m changing your Mona Lisa.’ The founder is like, ‘I’m Leonardo DaVinci and you’re selling photocopies.'”

After securing a spot in the Carnival Cruise Line ships, Big Chicken is establishing itself in sports arenas like Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena and St. Louis’ Busch Stadium. Multiple locations have opened in Texas, Florida, and Illinois and more are coming.

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At least 300 locations across the country are in development across the nation and most of them could be open for business in 2024. Big Chicken has inked deals with other groups to launch at least 50 locations in Texas and 20 in Michigan. This is all part of O’Neal laying his trust on his CEO.

“I’ve always had the ability to hire people who were smarter than me. I don’t micromanage my team. He does his thing. I do mine. Josh [Halpern] does his,” said O’Neal in 2021.

Josh Halpern’s input in Big Chicken

The four-time NBA champion is the chill boss. He doesn’t micromanage but trusts his team to run the show the way they deem best. Halpern’s goal aligns with Shaq’s to make Big Chicken a “franchisee-first” company. He implemented programs to keep franchisees and owners involved in growing the business to keep the interest alive on the inside. “Apathy kills businesses, apathy kills industry,” he warned.

Halpern’s goal is to keep the ‘Big Diesel’ brand unblemished. “The universal love of Shaq is important,” the CEO said. “People love the guy, and we want to protect that. If customers aren’t happy with the food and franchisees aren’t happy with their business, he loses that. That can’t happen.” For that reason, Halpern came up with the ‘Four Wins’ plan: win with guests, franchisees and suppliers – “It’s a big win for Big Chicken,” he’s narrated on multiple occasions.

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O’Neal’s dreams are expanding under Halpern’s leadership. Not only brick-and-mortar locations, Big Chicken is collaborating with ghost kitchen groups, opening up kiosks with pre-made meals, and developing a drive-thru concept. With Josh Halpern’s proven success record, Shaquille O’Neal is comfortable handing him the reins of his precious Big Chicken.