Shaq Supporters Ball So Hard For His Big Chicken Grand Opening, City Officials Had To Shut It Down

TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal recently opened his Big Chicken restaurant in Houston. The turnout for the grand opening was so massive that the fire marshal was summoned, according to The Houston Press. 

The restaurant, located at 9630 Westheimer Road, #1000, caused such a commotion with people clamoring to get inside that the parking lots on both sides of Westheimer between South Gessner and Tanglewilde were filled with vehicles and eager food enthusiasts. 

Part of the reason for the large turnout was that Shaquille O’Neal was in attendance, greeting and taking photos with customers. The NBA All-Star said he was grateful for the love that Houston has shown him.

“I’ve been living here for 30 years. I just want to thank the people of Houston for coming out. I love the turnout, but if it was ten people or one hundred people, I’m going to be thankful.”

In 2022, the NBA Hall of Famer signed a deal to place 50 Big Chicken restaurants in Texas. Starting with the opening in Houston, he intends to put restaurants in four of the largest Texas markets— including Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.

“This is my creation—Excuse me, this is my mama’s creation. Coming where we come from, me and this little guy had to eat chicken a lot,” Shaq said, referring to his brother. “Chicken sandwiches, chicken tacos, chicken, everything. When the opportunity came to create this franchise, we had a meeting and sold over 250. This is the first to open in Houston. I just wanted people to come out, so I’m paying for everything today. Try it. If you like it, cool. If you don’t, let me know why because we want to make this one of the best restaurants out here.”

After the fire marshal shut down the restaurant, the former Los Angeles Lakers player stayed outside with the crowd and signed autographs, took photographs, and interacted with the people who came out to lend their support.