Shaq’s Big Chicken growing in Massachusetts

Big Chicken, an award-winning QSR brand founded by basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neill, will celebrate its grand opening in Beverly, Massachusetts this weekend. This will be the second Big Chicken in the Bay State, as franchisees JBMM Hospitality already operate a successful location at the Wrentham Premium Outlets, roughly an hour from Beverly.

“Beverly has all the ingredients we look for in a Big Chicken community – great energy, a strong local identity and people who appreciate seriously good food,” said Gregg Majewski, CEO of Big Chicken. “With the JBMM team leading the way, we’re excited to plant our flag on the North Shore and continue growing our Massachusetts footprint.”

JBMM Hospitality is a partnership between entrepreneurs Barry Lattuca, James O’Hanlon, Michael Scibelli, and Martin LaChance. The group first brought Big Chicken to Wrentham as a mobile pop-up, which they called “The Dunk Truck,” in 2025 before opening their permanent location at the outlets this January.

“Massachusetts has welcomed Big Chicken in a BIG way since the very first day we rolled in with the Dunk Truck, and opening in Beverly gives us another opportunity to build on that momentum,” said Lattuca**.** “We’re looking forward to celebrating with everyone who has welcomed us so far with open arms and introducing even more of the community to the BIG Flavor and BIG Fun that make Big Chicken special.”

The Beverly location’s grand opening will take place tomorrow, Saturday, August 22, at 55 Dodge Street. To celebrate their local launch, Big Chicken is running a promotion that will provide free sandwiches for a year to the restaurant’s first 36 guests – a reference to their NBA Champion founder’s jersey number.

In addition to sandwiches, Big Chicken’s menu includes chicken tenders (“Dunkables”), Shaq Snacks (a chicken tender-hot dog hybrid concept), salads, shakes, fries, mac and cheese, and other sides.

Big Chicken’s concept was developed by Shaq and the teams at Craveworthy Brands, Authentic Brands Group, and JRS Hospitality to reflect both the founding superstar’s love of home-cooked food and his “big” personality. The brand is built on three core values: big flavor, big food, and big love.