Founded by Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and gearing up for a major South-and-Central-Florida expansion, Big Chicken has signed a lease for its first South Florida location. The burgeoning chicken chain is headed to 5635 NW 87th Avenue, where it will open in the Doral Place 87 shopping center. It’s expected to launch before the end of this year, according to a recent press release.
“From the moment we came across Big Chicken, we knew it was a concept worth investing in. We’re thrilled with the progress that we’ve made in opening our first South Florida location in Doral,” said Fred Burgess, principal, co-founder, and co-CEO of DMD Ventures, a branch of which—DMD Chicken—has recently signed a huge 45-unit agreement to open Big Chicken locations in South and Central Florida.
DMD Chicken is also headed up by co-CEO Jack Flechner and COO Kurt Petterle. Together the team has more than 50 years of experience building a portfolio of franchise concepts that include Twin Peaks, Papa Johns, and IHG Hotels.
“We’re incredibly grateful for our partnership with DMD Chicken. Fred, Jack and Kurt played a key role in bringing Big Chicken to its 200-units-sold milestone,” Josh Halpern, CEO of Big Chicken, said in the release. “We’re happy to celebrate their signed lease in Doral and know they’re going to make Big Chicken a BIG success in Central and South Florida.”
The Big Chicken menu is built around several takes on the crispy chicken sandwich, including the Shaq Attack (pepper jack cheese, jalapeño slaw, spicy chipotle bbq sauce) and the Charles Barkley (mac & cheese, crispy fried onions, roasted garlic bbq aioli), which also available as sliders. Popcorn chicken, chicken tenders, and sidekicks like BC Fries and Lucille’s Mac & Cheese with Cheez-It Crust complete the picture. For dessert, guests can choose from a variety of shakes, ice cream sandwiches, and soft-serve cones.
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