Franchising

Big Chicken adding 3rd Florida location

Provided by Big Chicken

July 25, 2023

Melbourne, Florida, is the next destination for Big Chicken, founded by basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.

Part of a 45-unit agreement across Central and South Florida, Big Chicken in Melbourne will be the third location to open in Florida for DMD Chicken, a branch of Florida commercial hospitality development company DMD Ventures. Located at the southeast corner of North Wickham Road and Pineda Causeway in Crossroads Village, the restaurant will open in early 2025.

"We've been focused on finding the best real estate across Central and South Florida to open Big Chicken and are thrilled to announce our next restaurant location in Melbourne," Fred Burgess, principal, co-founder and co-CEO of DMD Ventures, said in a company press release "We've certainly felt the excitement building for Big Chicken in Orlando and Doral, where we've signed our first two leases, and we're excited to continue building on the momentum as we ramp up our development."

Alongside Burgess, the DMD Chicken leadership team includes co-CEO Jack Flechner and Chief Operating Officer Kurt Petterle. As a branch of DMD Ventures, the ownership group of attorneys, developers and hospitality leaders have over 50 years of experience accelerating growth across its portfolio. With franchise concepts including Twin Peaks, Papa Johns, IHG Hotels, Go Minis Portable Storage and shopping centers, the trio of industry veterans are equipped to quickly scale Big Chicken across Florida.

"Big Chicken is expanding its way across Florida in a BIG way thanks to our partnership with DMD Chicken," Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern said in the release. "Fred, Jack and Kurt are incredibly knowledgeable about the markets they are entering into, and we're fully confident in their ability to make each location a success. Let's grow!"

Big Chicken has locations open in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Gilbert, Arizona, as well as in the Dayton, Ohio region, inside New York's UBS Arena, The Moody Center in Austin, ASU's Mullett Arena, Palm Springs' Acrisure Arena, St. Louis's Busch Stadium, Kansas City International Airport and on three Carnival Cruise ships.