Shaquille O’Neal is always raising the bar!

As AfroTech previously reported, the basketball legend and serial entrepreneur became a co-owner of Big Chicken in 2018 before introducing the restaurant chain to Las Vegas and California. Now, it appears Shaq is still on the move!

Houston Chronicle reports Big Chicken will be opening 50 locations throughout Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. The first restaurants are expected to open at an undisclosed date later this year and it appears Houstonians and Austinites will have first dibs.

“Big Chicken is exactly the kind of brand that succeeds in Texas: pioneering and bold, yet rooted in delicious tradition. Our restaurant industry’s rich diversity is our greatest strength, and we’re absolutely thrilled that Shaquille O’Neal and the Big Chicken team are joining us,” said Emily Williams Knight, president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, according to the Houston Chronicle. “Welcome back home to Texas, Shaq.”

Big Chicken’s expansion to the Texas market was thanks to Texas-based businessmen Fazil Malik and Frank Malik in partnership with the CEO of Drew Real Estate Holdings of Texas Noordin Jhaver.

“Big Chicken wouldn’t be growing like it is without the team behind it,” O’Neal said in the release, according to KSAT12. “My team has done a fantastic job making sure we’re growing in the right way, with the right people. Now, we’re going even BIGGER in Texas and I’m excited to be teammates with Fazil, Frank and Noordin.”

Emily Williams Knight

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