Shaq's Big Chicken announces opening date, location for Orlando restaurant

Shaq's Big Chicken restaurant to open in Orlando this year

We told you last year that Shaq's Big Chicken restaurant will be opening in Orlando. Now we know when and where.

ORLANDO, Fla. - We told you last year that Shaq's Big Chicken restaurant will be opening in Orlando. Now we know when.

According to the company's website, the chicken chain owned by NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal will open in Orlando in late 2023. A specific date for the opening has not been announced yet.

The Orlando restaurant will be located at the Market at Southside at 250 E. Michigan Street.

According to its LinkedIn page, the company signed a 45-unit franchising deal with Florida-based DMD Ventures which will bring Big Chicken to several locations across the state including Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

"With this announcement, we’ve officially sold out the state of Florida and pushed our development pipeline to more than 200!! As some would say... GO BIG or go home!!" Big Chicken wrote in the LinkedIn post.

Big Chicken fuses O’Neal’s home-cooked childhood favorites with today’s trending flavors.

"From crispy chicken sandwiches and tenders to Cheez-It crusted mac n’ cheese and hand-crafted ice cream shakes, each menu item tells a story all while offering guests an inside look into the life and personality of Shaquille O’Neal," the restaurant group wrote in a press release.

If the menu is anything like the one in Las Vegas, diners could enjoy several varieties of chicken sandwiches 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). To kick your 'wich up a notch, you can choose from several tasty sauces.

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The menu also offers sliders and several side dishes like Dirty Fries (cheese sauce, bacon, banana peppers, chipotle bbq), Jalapeño slaw, and Lucille's mac n' cheese.

Opening Big Chicken in Orlando seems like a no-brainer: it's where Shaq lived and played for the Magic for years.