Big Chicken, the Shaquille O’Neal-owned fast casual concept, is heading to Florida in a massive way.
The company recently signed a 45-unit franchising deal with Florida-based commercial hospitality development company DMD Ventures, which means we can expect Big Chicken locations in Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa Bay.
The casual chicken spot's menu is a combination of Shaq's home-cooked childhood favorites and the hottest trending flavors, chock-full of chicken sandwiches, tendies and more.
Although Big Chicken's sandwiches look tiny in Shaq's massive hands, the franchise is known for its stacked specialty sandos like the "Big & Sloppy," with mac and cheese, crispy fried onions and garlic BBQ aioli, and the "Uncle Jerome" with Nashville hot chicken, lettuce, mayo and pickles. Popular sides include loaded fries, mac and cheese and jalapeño slaw, while Big Chicken offers hand-spun milkshakes, thick ice cream sandwiches and cookies for dessert.
Founded in 2018, Big Chicken is a joint effort from Las Vegas-based JRS Hospitality, marketing and development company Authentic Brands Group, and of course, Shaq himself. There are currently over 200 Big Chicken locations being developed across the country, alongside Florida's recently-announced franchises.
In addition to its various storefronts, Big Chicken operates several different ghost kitchens, and even has locations inside of sports arenas and Carnival Cruises, according to wtsp.com.
In addition to the dozens of locations planned for Central and South Florida, Big Chicken also made a recent franchising deal with Panhandle Restaurant Group to bring over 40 locations to the northern half of the state.
A version of this story originally appeared at Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
