Shaquille O’Neal-Owned Big Chicken Signs Franchise Deal to Expand into Omaha Market
Big Chicken is expanding into Omaha
June 21, 2024, OMAHA, Neb. – The fast-casual chicken concept founded by Shaquille O’Neal, announced today that it has signed a two-unit development agreement with experienced restaurant operators, Tom and Zak Davis, father and son respectively. The industry veterans, who are multi-unit Panera Bread, Scooter’s Coffee and Firehouse Subs franchisees, are the first to bring Big Chicken to their home state.
“Our experience has provided us a perspective on Big Chicken that we feel fantastic about.” said Tom, who began building his multi-unit, multi-brand restaurant franchise business more than 13 years ago. “There are a lot of parallels for us with Big Chicken and its leadership team. We have a deep appreciation for running great restaurants, and Big Chicken’s team is equal to the match. We have been following the growth of Big Chicken for a while, and once we were finally able to try the menu, we decided to get serious about opening our own stores in Omaha.”
With Tom and Zak’s extensive experience in operating fast-casual and QSR restaurant brands like Panera Bread, Firehouse Subs, and Scooter’s Coffee, the pair join the Big Chicken franchise family with strong operations skillsets.
“I’ve had the opportunity to have known Tom and Zak for almost ten years and they are a tremendous duo. They have a spirit to serve their community that is contagious and I’m excited to have them join the Big Chicken family. With their experience as multi-brand and multi-unit franchise operators, they know the Omaha restaurant scene inside and out and were exactly who we were looking for to introduce the brand to Nebraska,” said Sam Stanovich, Senior Vice President of Franchise Leadership for Big Chicken. “We began talking with them when we started franchising nearly three years ago, and they have been supporters ever since, so it’s great to have them onboard. And, although they just joined the brand, they have both already expressed interest in playing an active role in the future of Big Chicken, which makes me all the more excited about this new partnership.”
SOURCE Big Chicken