Shaquille O'Neal's Big Chicken has finally announced a date for the opening of its Fort Worth location.
The Las Vegas-based restaurant, founded in 2018, is set to open in Fort Worth on Sept. 3.
Big Chicken secured a lease for a space situated between Outback Steakhouse and Revfit within the Victory Shops at Heritage Trace, located at the northwest corner of Interstate 35W and Heritage Trace Parkway in the Alliance area.
In honor of O'Neals's Lakers jersey number, the first 34 customers will receive complimentary food and drinks at Big Chicken for an entire year, according to a news release.
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The menu will feature a variety of options, including massive sandwiches, chicken tenders, Cheez-It-crusted mac n’ cheese, shakes, popcorn chicken and milkshakes.
"This is my ritual," O'Neal told CNBC back in 2021 during the opening of the Las Vegas location. "Fried chicken with cheese, pickles and hot sauce."
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This venture is not his inaugural venture into the food industry; he also owns several Papa John's locations and has even graced a commercial for the pizza chain. In March 2024, he made the decision to step down from the company's board.
O’Neal’s ties to North Texas are substantial, with the well-known figure being spotted regularly across the DFW Metroplex, and also owning a North Texas home.
In 2023, O'Neal told our partners at The Dallas Morning News that he fell in love with the area as a young boy.
"We used to come up to Dallas [from San Antonio] a lot as a youngster — and the drive, the scenery, the land, and the people in Dallas have always been very hospitable to me. I just fell in love with Dallas," O'Neal said. "Dallas is my midway point when I have to go do business on the West Coast."
There are three Big Chicken locations in Texas: Austin, Houston, and Richmond, with plans to open another in Lubbock in 2024, as stated on their website. However, the Fort Worth location is the first one to be planned for North Texas.
For more information on the opening of Big Chicken and available jobs, visit their website.
