Shaq-Owned Big Chicken Debuts First Franchise Location

Big Chicken, the Shaquille O-Neal-owned chicken franchise, will open its first franchised location on August 11 in Dayton, Ohio.

Global Franchise reported that the location will be overseen by restaurant industry veterans such as Steve Christensen, Reid Richards and Mike Craddick. They have opened more than 30 franchised restaurants during their combined 60 years of experience. 

“The hype in the community is building, and we know locals will be blown away by the unique and delicious menu items we have in store,” said Craddick.

The restaurant is opening in Austin Landing, a premier mixed-use retail, restaurant and entertainment destination. This places Big Chicken in a prime spot for locals alongside various national and independent brands. 

“This is an incredible moment for Big Chicken. My inspiration was always in sharing delicious food with family and friends, and seeing our first franchise opening feels like we are accomplishing just that,” O’Neal said.

This move by Big Chicken is the latest in a series of developments for chicken franchises which seem to be having a moment recently. Slim Chickens, for example, reported exponential growth in the first and second quarters of this year, according to Franchising.com. 

The chicken brand has already inked over 120 new development agreements this year, bringing the total units in development to 900-plus restaurants. It has also celebrated over 25 openings in 11 new territories. This success among its franchises has led the brand to acquire a $3,864,513 AUV — a 13.6% increase year-over-year. 

“Coming out of 2021, we had big shoes to fill. After having our best year to date, we were dedicated to honing in on not only bringing in new franchisees but also extending widespread support to operators currently within our franchise system,” said Jackie Lobdell, vice president of franchise development at Slim Chickens. “The next six months will bring in much more success for our franchisees, and we are ecstatic to see what they achieve ahead of 2023.”

Slim Chickens is also bringing business across the Atlantic to the UK, reported Forbes. In July, it opened four sites in one day in London, Liverpool, Milton Keynes and Leicester. The openings brought the number of locations in the UK to over 20, which is set to rise even further in the coming year. 

Chicken chains have continued to ride a wave of popularity over the past several years. Over the last three decades, chicken overtook beef and pork to become the most commonly consumed meat product in the U.S., Sentient Media reported, while Technomic found that 84% of global consumers now order chicken from a restaurant at least once a month.