Franchising

Big Chicken going big in Houston

Provided

December 6, 2022

Big Chicken, founded by basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, is continuing to break ground in the Houston area with its second signed lease in a 50-unit that solidifies a spot for the restaurant to open next year in Richmond at 415 FM 762, STE 100.

"We're taking our Texas takeover one step at a time, and our Richmond location is the next BIG step to getting there," Fazil Malik, co-owner of the restaurant alongside Frank Malik and Noordin Jhaver, said in a company press release. The trio will eventually open 50 locations in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. The first, which is in Houston's Woodland Square, broke ground in August.

"We're thrilled that Fazil, Frank and Noordin are continuing to build Big Chicken's soon-to-be massive presence in Texas with the debut of their second location," Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern said in the release. "From the beginning, we've known that the trio was a fantastic match for the brand and we'll continue to celebrate each new location alongside them as if it were the first."

Since the announcement of Big Chicken's franchising initiative just over one year ago, the brand has added over 200 locations to its development pipeline.