Celebrity Chicken News
Shaquille O'Neal's Big Chicken to open first DFW location in Fort Worth
Big Chicken sandwiches and fries.
Celebrity chicken is winging into Dallas-Fort Worth: Big Chicken, the fried chicken sandwich concept founded by basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, has settled on its first North Texas location: north Fort Worth.
The restaurant will be located at 9755 North Fwy., in the Victory Shops at Heritage Trace, at the northwest corner of I-35W and Heritage Trace Parkway in the Alliance area.
According to a representative from the landlord, it'll open in spring 2024.
Big Chicken was founded in 2018 by O'Neal with two partners JRS Hospitality and Authentic Brands Group, with a menu inspired by O’Neal’s childhood favorites. There are fried chicken sandwiches and tenders with a pale, peppery battered crust, Cheez-It crusted mac & cheese, fries, and shakes.
Some distinctive dishes include their popcorn chicken, made from chicken thighs, and there's an unusual grilled cheese sandwich on rustic Italian bread featuring three cheeses, chipotle bbq sauce, and pieces of fried chicken.
Their fries are thick cut steak fries which come seasoned, or in a "dirty" loaded option topped with cheese sauce, bacon, banana peppers and chipotle BBQ sauce.
The chain has locations in 15 states including three in Texas - in Austin, Houston, and Richmond, with another slated to open in Lubbock - plus they're served on some Carnival Cruise ships.
The Fort Worth location is the first confirmed location in North Texas, following announcements in 2022 and early 2023 about an ambitious plan to open 50-something locations in Texas. It remains to be seen whether those will all pan out, but the likelihood that DFW would get a location was high, given the fact that O'Neal bought a home in North Texas in 2022.
