Shaquille O’Neal-Owned Big Chicken and Blue Origin Team Up to Inspire Future Generations for the Benefit of Earth and Chicken  

Big Chicken to Collaborate with Blue Origin on Dream to Pursue Restaurant in Space

February 9, 2023 – The countdown is on for a new era in restaurant operations. Shaquille O’Neal-Owned Big Chicken and Blue Origin are teaming up to feed the imaginations of the next generation of explorers for the benefit of Earth and space chicken.

“We’ve always said “Go BIG’ when asked about growth plans for Big Chicken. Now, with Blue Origin, we’re going as BIG as we can by advancing the dream of running restaurants in space,” said Josh Halpern, CEO of Big Chicken and the architect of the company’s franchise growth strategy launched a year and a half ago, which has resulted in 200-plus planned U.S. locations. “When I think about what Shaquille stands for – BIG fun and pursuing BIG dreams – this relationship aligns perfectly with Blue Origin’s vision to enable millions of people to live and work in space for the benefit of Earth.” 

Blue Origin’s nonprofit, Club for the Future, will partner with Big Chicken’s leadership team and founder Shaquille O’Neal as Club Ambassadors to inspire and engage students. Club for the Future will launch new community outreach programs at Big Chicken restaurants, including inviting patrons to draw their vision of the future on Postcards to Space. Blue Origin will fly the postcards on a future New Shepard mission, stamp them “flown to space,” and return them to the creators.   

“Living and working in space for the benefit of Earth should be delicious. Shaq’s Big Chicken and Club for the Future will fuel students’ appetites and minds as they pursue careers in STEM – all while delivering some of Earth’s tastiest foods to space,” said Michael Edmonds, SVP, Strategy, Marketing, and Sales, Blue Origin, and President of Club for the Future.

“I’m proud to team up with Blue Origin to help inspire the next generation,” said Shaquille O’Neal, who opened the first Big Chicken location in 2018. “This first-of-its-kind partnership is a game changer and I’m excited to take the chicken sandwich game to a whole new level.”

In addition to the collaboration with Blue Origin, Big Chicken also has plans to expand in Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Chicagoland, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Nashville, and Greater Los Angeles. Existing locations are currently open in Las Vegas (Paradise Road and Tropicana Avenue); Los Angeles(Glendale and; Valencia); Seattle (Climate Pledge Arena and Renton); and in the Dayton, Ohio region, as well as metro-New York’s UBS Arena, The Moody Center in Austin, ASU’s Mullett Arena, Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena and on three Carnival Cruise ships. The chain will also open restaurants in Houston, Gilbert (Arizona), Kansas City, and St Louis in the next six weeks. Tailored for skilled restaurant owner/operator groups, the franchise investment has been designed to align with successful, multi-unit investors who want to become part of Shaquille’s dream team.

About Big Chicken

Founded in 2018, Big Chicken is backed by a dream team of partners; JRS Hospitality, an accomplished Las Vegas-based ownership group; Authentic Brands Group, a multi-national, multi-billion-dollar brand development, marketing and entertainment company; and Hall of Fame basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. 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. With five traditional locations currently open and several in the development pipeline, Big Chicken is prepped to begin U.S. and international expansion through franchising.

To learn more about Big Chicken, visit www.bigchicken.com.

About Blue Origin
Blue Origin was founded with a vision of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. Blue Origin envisions a time when people can tap into the limitless resources of space and enable the movement of damaging industries into space to preserve Earth, humanity’s blue origin. Blue Origin is working today to create that future by developing reusable launch vehicles and in-space systems that are safe, low cost, and serve the needs of all civil, commercial, and defense customers. Blue Origin’s efforts include flying astronauts to space on New Shepard, producing reusable liquid rocket engines, developing an orbital launch vehicle with New Glenn, building next-generation space habitats, and returning to the surface of the Moon. These endeavors will add new chapters to the history of spaceflight and move all of humanity closer to that founding vision. For more information about Blue Origin, please visit BlueOrigin.com.

About Club for the Future

Founded by Blue Origin in 2019, Club for the Future is a foundation whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space. The Club and its collaborators are doing this through Postcards to Space, space-focused curriculum, and access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets.

About Shaquille O’Neal

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the world’s most successful athlete-turned-businessmen, whose accomplishments both on and off the court have translated into a highly sought-after consumer brand. As an entrepreneur, sports analyst, DJ, restaurateur, and brand ambassador, Shaquille O’Neal’s signature “Business of Fun” mantra resonates throughout each of his countless endeavors.

The 15-time NBA All-Star’s unprecedented athletic career spanned nearly two decades and earned him countless awards and honors, including NBA Most Valuable Player, NBA Rookie of the Year, four NBA Championships and a First Ballot NBA Hall of Famer.  Currently, O’Neal is an analyst on TNT’s Emmy Award-winning “Inside the NBA.”

O'Neal, who has a PhD in Leadership and Education, established The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation which provides resources for underserved youth. He also gives back through a number of annual philanthropic programs including Shaq to School, Shaqsgiving, and Shaq a Claus.

The launch of his Las Vegas eatery Big Chicken has further elevated Shaquille’s status as he has positioned himself as a successful restaurateur. The brand currently has sites open in Las Vegas, Glendale, CA, two Carnival Cruise Ships (Mardi Gras and Radiance), Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, UBS Arena in New York with many more locations under development.

Follow Shaquille O’Neal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Authentic Brands Group

Authentic Brands Group (Authentic) is a global brand development, marketing and entertainment platform, which owns a portfolio of more than 40 iconic and world-renowned Lifestyle, Entertainment and Media brands. Headquartered in New York City, with offices around the world, Authentic connects strong brands with best-in-class partners and a global network of operators, distributors and retailers to build long-term value in the marketplace. Its brands have an expansive retail footprint, including more than 9,100-plus freestanding stores and shop-in-shops in more than 150 countries and generate approximately $24 billion in global annual retail sales.

Authentic is committed to transforming brands by delivering powerful storytelling, compelling content, innovative business models and immersive experiences. It creates and activates original marketing strategies to drive the success of its brands across all consumer touchpoints, platforms and emerging media. Authentic’s brand portfolio includes Marilyn Monroe®, Elvis Presley®, Muhammad Ali®, Shaquille O'Neal®, David Beckham®, Dr. J®, Greg Norman®, Neil Lane®, Thalia®, Sports Illustrated®, Reebok®, Eddie Bauer®, Spyder®, Volcom®, Airwalk®, Nautica®, Izod®, Brooks Brothers®, Barneys New York®, Judith Leiber®, Ted Baker®, Hervé Léger®, Frye®, Juicy Couture®, Vince Camuto®, Lucky Brand®, Aéropostale®, Forever 21®, Nine West®, Jones New York®, Tretorn®, Prince®, Van Heusen®, Arrow®, Hickey Freeman®, Hart Schaffner Marx® and Thomasville®.

For more information, visit authentic.com.

Follow Authentic on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

CONTACTS:      

Big Chicken: Emily Cashen | All Points Public Relations | (847) 971-2350 | ecashen@allpointspr.com
Blue Origin: Rosemarie Esposito | Blue Origin | (732) 685-9222 | resposito@blueorigin.com