Here at the ShaqFu Radio blog, we’ve been reporting on the big man’s move to Texas. He recently finished buying a new home in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton. We had talked about why O’Neal would head for the Lone Star State. Seems his off-court businesses had a lot to do with the decision.
If you’ve been around here at the blog for any amount of time (and you have, of course!) you know that Shaq is one of the majority owners of a new fast-food chain called “Big Chicken.” It seems that now the big man wants to get involved in a bigger way with the company.
By regular fast-food industry standards, Big Chicken has had an interesting birth and growth period. The first outlet of the restaurant was actually on board a cruise ship. One of Shaq’s other business interests is that he’s a promotional spokesman for Carnival Cruise Lines. So there’s that…
In addition, Big Chicken outlets have been opening in sports arenas around the country. There’s one in the Seattle, Washington Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken. On the other side of the country, there’s another in the brand-new UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders (both NHL franchises, BTW).
As reported here on the blog over the past couple of weeks, O’Neal recently plunked down about one and a quarter million dollars for the new crib in Carrollton, a suburb on the northwest side of Dallas.
The home is about 5200 square feet, which makes it a LOT smaller than the mansion he owned and recently sold in the Orlando, Florida area. Still, O’Neal didn’t get a lot of use out of the Florida home, and the new location in Texas is closer to his new business action.
Various news outlets in Texas are reporting big expansion plans for Big Chicken, focusing on the Texas market. The Dallas Morning News has reported the company may be considering opening around 56 Big Chicken restaurants in North Texas alone.
Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern said the oversized expansion plans are moving ahead, and he even went as far as to welcome other big-name, big-money investors to take a look at the restaurant chain, saying: “We don’t want to over-saturate a market, but we’re willing to make this as big as we possibly can. If Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos want to talk, we’re happy to talk.”
As for Big Chicken itself, we here at ShaqFu Radio are looking forward to the day we can sample the menu. We’ve got our eyes (and taste buds) focused on the sandwich that bears the name of fellow Inside the NBA co-host Charles Barkley. The sandwich of the same name – according to the menu – is smothered with fried chicken, mac and cheese, fried onions, and roasted garlic barbecue aioli. Sign us up!
For those with less out-there meal desires, there’s the M.D.E (Most Dominant Ever) sandwich, named after Shaq himself. It is also a fried chicken-based sandwich. However, it comes with just sauce and pickles.
Shaq’s business empire continues to grow. We can’t wait to see new Big Chicken outlets hatching all over the country… and we can’t wait to try one ourselves.