FORT WORTH, Texas — Noted North Texas homeowner (two times over, in fact) and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal is opening his new chicken restaurant in Fort Worth soon.
Big Chicken, a chain O'Neal and his business partners founded in 2018, is opening a location in Fort Worth on Sept. 3.
Big Chicken signed a lease for a space between Outback Steakhouse and Revfit in the Victory Shops at Heritage Trace at the northwest corner of I-35W and Heritage Trace Parkway in the Alliance area.
And here's an added bonus for customers: If you're among the first 34 guests in line, you'll get free Big Chicken for a year. Thirty-four was O'Neal's number during his legendary career, so that's the tie-in there.
O'Neal founded Big Chicken with his partners, Las Vegas-based JRS Hospitality and Authentic Brands Group, with a menu inspired by O’Neal’s childhood favorites, according to its website.
The menu includes fried chicken sandwiches. Chicken tenders, Cheez-It-crusted mac n’ cheese, shakes, popcorn chicken, and more. Among their distinctive sandwiches are a crispy chicken grilled cheese with chicken, three cheeses and chipotle barbecue sauce on Italian bread.
There are three Big Chicken locations in Texas – in Austin, Houston and Richmond, with another slated to open in Lubbock in 2024, according to their website, but the Fort Worth location is the first one planned in North Texas.
O'Neal's restaurants aren't his only connection to North Texas. He purchased a home in Carrollton back in 2022 and recently bought a home in the Rockwall area (selling the Carrollton home in the process).
He definitely feels at home here: Back in 2022, he was shopping at Best Buy when he ran into a couple that was shopping for a washing machine. O'Neal decided to pick up the bill and also threw in a 70-inch TV. He's also made trips to the Boys and Girls Club in Dallas, and spoke at a fundraiser for the St. Philip's School and Community Center.
Last year, he told the Dallas Morning News that he's "always had a great time" in Dallas, going back to when he'd visit the city while growing up in San Antonio. When he needed a home base between traveling all over the country, including as DJ Diesel, North Texas was a natural fit.
"Dallas is my midway point when I have to go do business on the West Coast," he told the News. "So, like, I got to do business on the West Coast in two weeks. I’m going to just go stay in Dallas for about a week and just get some rest."