Shaquille O’Neal recently moved to Dallas, Texas to further expand his businesses into the state of Texas. The fruit of the move is already being showcased to the proud state as Shaq opened over 50 ‘Big Chicken’ restaurants in and around the regions of Texas.
Most of the outlets are expected to be in the location of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, but it is bound to also spread to other major areas in the Texas region like San Antonio and Houston. Considering this is an O’Neal endeavor, it is bound to have some funny quirks that set it apart from other restaurants consumers could go to.
The menu items are going to be very cleverly named, with a Charles Barkley sandwich also set to be included. The Barkley sandwich is a fried chicken sandwich with mac and cheese, crispy fried onions, and roasted garlic barbecue aioli.
Shaq’s Big Chicken franchise will open 50 new locations in Texas including Dallas! pic.twitter.com/F9ppimikKN
— Dallas Entertainment (@DallasTxEnt) April 10, 2022
There is also a sandwich in Shaq’s honor but that is a regular fried chicken sandwich with some special sauce. It is called the ‘MDE sandwich, with MDE being short for ‘Most Dominant Ever’.
The M.D.E — which is O’Neal’s nickname, Most Dominant Ever — is one of the most popular sandwiches, Halpern says. It’s one of the simpler options: a fried chicken sandwich with Shaq sauce and pickles. Customers also tend to order a Nashville hot chicken sandwich called the Uncle Jerome, named for O’Neal’s bodyguard. And those who are super hungry might order the Charles Barkley, a fried chicken sandwich loaded with mac and cheese, crispy fried onions and roasted garlic barbecue aioli. (h/t Dallas Morning News)
This is going to be a major focus for O’Neal, who had moved to Dallas earlier this year to fully commit himself to this project. The first restaurant is expected to open by 2023.
