Shaq expands Big Chicken, has location in Islanders $1.5 billion arena

Shaquille O’Neal signed the richest contract in sports history and went on to win four NBA championships. These days, Shaq has a new business he’s trying to conquer: chicken sandwiches.

O’Neal, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2016, is a co-owner of a restaurant venture called Big Chicken, which opened its first location three years ago in Las Vegas. Last year, a second store opened in Glendale, California.

Now, O’Neal focuses on sports arenas, the kind of venues he knows best.

Big Chicken recently opened a location at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, home to the National Hockey League’s newest team, Kraken. And on Thursday, O’Neal made a brief stop through New York for a glimpse of UBS Arena, the new $1.5 billion home of the NHL’s New York Islanders.

Big Chicken will sell fried chicken sandwiches inside the UBS Arena during NHL games and other events at the complex. The arena is behind the track for the Belmont Stakes and is scheduled to host its first regular game on November 20, when the Islanders play the Calgary Flames.

“Section 206,” said O’Neal, smiling at one of the many local television cameras on hand to capture the promotional event. He’s referring to the part where Big Chicken is in the arena.

“This is my ritual,” he told CNBC, shortly after the television cameras departed. “Chicken fried with cheese, pickles and hot sauce.”

O’Neal started Big Chicken with his friend Matt Silverman, and agent Perry Rogers. This is not his first foray into the food industry. O’Neal owns various Papa John’s locations, and has even appeared in commercials for the pizza chain. In 2019, he joined the company’s board of directors.

But this mission for O’Neal is a lot different, because he’s starting to build the brand from scratch.

At UBS Arena on Thursday, O’Neal was joined by Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky. In honor of Veterans Day, they posed for pictures with service members, and then stood in an unfurnished room to watch the chef prepare the items that would appear on Big Chicken’s menu. O’Neal jokes about not knowing all the rules of hockey, but says he watches NHL games.

One of the sandwiches on Big Chicken’s menu is Uncle Jerome, named after O’Neal’s uncle. Another was called Charles Barkley, a nod to the former NBA star and O’Neal’s broadcast partner on “Inside the NBA.” Barkley’s eponymous sandwich comes with mac and cheese on top of chicken, along with crispy onions and “Shaq sauce.”

Big Chicken also features MDE, which stands for Most Dominance Ever, and is used to describe O’Neal’s career in the center, primarily for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the first team of all NBA eight times and the most valuable player overall three times.

In 1996, shortly after he arrived in LA from Orlando, the Lakers recognized O’Neal’s dominance. The team signed him on a seven-year, $120 million contract. At the time, it was the richest team in sports and set the stage for the Lakers’ revival.

O’Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000-2002, and won a fourth title with the Miami Heat in 2004. He ended his career with 15 All-Star Game appearances and one MVP title. Last month, O’Neal was named one of the 75 greatest players ever as the NBA was celebrating its 75th season.

O’Neal has earned more than $280 million in his playing career, and Forbes estimates he has made more than $700 million in total earnings, including his off-court efforts.

O’Neal was early bets on Google and Apple, and had designer sneakers at Walmart, a clothing line at JCPenney, and a menswear line. He also took a stake in an alkaline water company this year.

He is a “strategy consultant” for Wynn Resorts’ WynnBET sports gambling unit. Because of NBA rules, he had to give up his minority stake in the Sacramento Kings for that deal.

The restaurant was one of O’Neal’s biggest games in his post-NBA life. He told CNBC that opening quick-service restaurants (QSRs) has been a passion since his days at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. O’Neal said of the book that prompted him to continue, “The Dummy Guide to Starting Your Own Business.”

In May, O’Neal and his Big Chicken team hired Josh Halpern, a former executive at Anheuser-Busch InBev, as CEO.

“We do some things differently,” Halpern said in an interview. “We used higher grade chicken, which is antibiotic-free, cage-free and hormone-free. We’re about to get better value for money.”

To expand distribution, Halpern says Big Chicken will use a so-called ghost kitchen, allowing it to include menu items alongside food from other restaurants so consumers can mix and match according to their preferences. an order.

Big Chicken is partnering with Ghost Kitchen Brands and will feature digital menu items in front of major chain stores. Had one inside a Walmart in Rochester, New York.

Halpern said the strategy “gets us into some neighborhoods and cities in the United States that may not be early adopters” for Big Chicken. He said a location in Rockport, New York will open soon.

Mr. Halpern said Big Chicken started accepting franchise applications earlier this year. Costs range from $450,000 to $1.4 million. There is a $40,000 franchise fee, and the company takes 5% of sales and 2% combined for domestic and local marketing.

O’Neal understands the franchise model from his experience with Papa John’s.

“He said to me, ‘You’d better never hurt a franchisee because I’m a franchisee, and you’ll hurt me,'” Halpern said. “He meant 100 percent.”

Another place where consumers can enjoy Big Chicken sandwiches is on the Festival cruise. Micky Arison, president of Carnival, is the owner of the Miami Heat, which won its first NBA championship in 2006 with O’Neal at the center.

Restaurant franchises are an attractive investment for many former NBA players. Magic Johnson previously owned more than 100 Starbucks stores and had several TGI Fridays restaurants and more than 20 Burger Kings in its portfolio.

Former NBA player Junior Bridgeman bought multiple Chili’s and Wendy’s franchises before selling them for $400 million in 2016. And last February, former Philadelphia 76ers center Theo Ratliff teamed up with Corlex Capital to find athletes who want to invest $100,000 in QSR.

“It’s like investing in stocks,” Ratliff told CNBC. “Let it grow, and when you decide to sell, you either sell it or keep it and take away the rest of the growth. But I think it’s a great opportunity.”

Halpern said QSR allows “you have the ability to create wealth for many people.”

While Big Chicken was O’Neal’s biggest leap into the restaurant business, he’s had others. He owns Shaquille’s, a restaurant at LA Live, an arcade around Staples Center, where the Lakers compete. After Covid-19 hit and traffic dried up, O’Neal closed Shaquille’s. He said paying the $90,000 monthly rent wasn’t worth it.

“And I didn’t get a PPP loan,” added O’Neal, referring to the Small Business Administration’s paycheck protection program. “So I turned it off and we’ll open it up again someday.”

In February, officials in Atlanta suspect arson started a fire for a historic Krispy Kreme brand that O’Neal purchased in 2016. O’Neal told CNBC he recently approved a new design for donut shop and plan to reopen in 2022.

“As an athlete, you have to learn to adjust on the fly,” says O’Neal. “Have you ever seen a guy do a move, and then when they do the move, [players] do not know what to do. You must be able to adjust. ”

But O’Neal’s work with Papa John’s may represent his most important role in the industry. He was put on Papa John’s board in 2019 to help fix the company’s image after former CEO John Schnatter resigned the previous year over racist comments he made. has been made public.

One of O’Neal’s former teams, the Phoenix Suns, is now facing similar controversy.

Earlier this month, an ESPN article accused Suns owner Robert Sarver of mistreating employees and making racist and misleading comments during his 17-year tenure with the franchise. commercial rights. Sarver has denied the allegations and the NBA has opened an investigation into the matter.

O’Neal said: “I’m not a bandwagon – I’ve interacted with that man 10 times and I haven’t seen it. “But when there are allegations of this magnitude made by employees, there needs to be an investigation.”

The issue is rocking the NBA seven years after former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling sold his team when recordings emerged of Sterling making racist comments.

“If the allegations are true, Adam Silver will need to make another tough decision,” O’Neal said of Sarver’s situation. Silver has been an NBA commissioner since 2014.

As an entrepreneur, one of O’Neal’s key qualities is his ability to make people laugh. He made a cameraman chuckle during his interview at UBS Arena, and amused the surrounding audience by mocking the chef, who was making sample sandwiches.

O’Neal credits his mother, Lucille, as the driving force behind his approach.

“I’m just continuing to make people happy,” he said. “It’s my duty. I just try to fulfill her wishes and do everything she says. I have to make people feel comfortable.”

The chicken restaurant market is crowded, with companies like Chick-fil-A and Popeyes vying for it for the best fried chicken sandwiches and McDonald’s and other fast food outlets advertising their own offerings. .

When asked if he intends to compete with brands like Popeyes, O’Neal said, “absolutely possible.” He then added, “And we never run out of chicken,” a rant at Popeyes, which ran out in 2019 amid a flurry of social media.

Before O’Neal left the event to catch a flight, he was asked to choose the best restaurant in his portfolio.

“I never thought about that,” he said. “What I’m most proud of is getting my mother whatever she wants.”

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Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the Miami Heat Finals win.