Big Chicken – the fast casual fried chicken restaurant owned by retired NBA star, Shaquille O’Neal – had to adjust operations during COVID-19.
“We welcome people from all over country at our locations in Las Vegas and Glendale [California]. Both locations have been greatly impacted by reduced travel and dine-in capacity restrictions. Our Glendale location is still limited to just takeout and delivery,” O’Neal told WATTPoultry.
“Our team has followed all the updated COVID-19 health and safety protocols and we’ve done our best to put programs in place that support the community. Just weeks after the pandemic began, Big Chicken created a Healthcare Appreciation Week to celebrate and recognize healthcare workers with a complimentary meal.”
In addition, healthcare and frontline workers continue to be eligible for a discount at both locations.
Now available nationwide
Like many other foodservice brands, Big Chicken had to flex during the pandemic to meet shifting consumer demand.
The fried chicken chain recently announced that menu items from Big Chicken, including fried chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and ice cream sandwiches, are now available for order nationwide through national food delivery platform Goldbelly.
“We have customers reaching out to us every day about opening a Big Chicken in their city, so Goldbelly was something we’ve discussed for a while, the pandemic just fast tracked our decision to join,” said O’Neal.
Goldbelly “connects people with their greatest food memories,” according to their website. The platform has more than doubled in size during the pandemic. It now features more than 700 restaurants throughout the U.S. that sell everything from chicken wings to ice cream to key lime pie bars.
Home-cooked favorites with bold new flavors
Big Chicken’s menu “fuses home-cooked childhood favorites with bold new flavors,” including a number of fried chicken sandwiches that sport Shaq-related names, including the Shaq Daddy and Big Aristotle, as well as tenders and regular and sweet potato fries. One sandwich, the M.D.E., is named after O’NEAL’S self-designated title “Most Dominant Ever” and features a condiment called “Shaq sauce” and pickles.
“The ‘best chicken sandwich’ conversation has also become an ongoing public debate and pop culture topic, which is one reason why we’ve always put a focus on using high quality ingredients. Our chicken is preservative-free and humanely-raised without hormones or antibiotics. We pay that same attention to everything that touches our chicken, from the cheese, to the breading and bun, to my all-important Shaq sauce,” O’Neal said.
“I can’t wait for when I can stop by and actually hang out at my Big Chicken locations again. I really miss our talented teams and engaging with customers while I’m there.”
View our continuing coverage of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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