Big Chicken’s Founder Shaquille O’Neal Honored with Distinguished 2023 MVP Award from Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine

The winners, chosen from a long list of multi-unit franchisee nominees, are the country’s best and brightest power operators, innovators, and creative thinkers who have demonstrated outstanding performance in growing both their organization and their brands.;

O’Neal shared his gratitude to Franchise Update Media for the award in a video shared on LinkedIn by Big Chicken.

“Thank you, Franchise Update Media, Gary and Therese, for this award,” said O’Neal. “I love the franchising business. I’m a franchisee with Papa Johns and Krispy Kreme, and I’m a franchisor with Big Chicken. I’ve learned so much about the business, and I’ve met many great people through the franchising world. Thank you, again, for this award. This means a lot to me. The future of franchising is bright, and I’m so proud to be a part of it.”

This year’s outstanding multi-unit franchisees each were presented with a coveted MVP Award at the recent Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, held April 25–28 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas and attended by 2,000 attendees.

Judges searched for the best, brightest, and most inspiring multi-unit franchisees before selecting 12 category winners. Each winner will be profiled in Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine.

“It’s incredible to see my boss, Shaquille O’Neal, recognized by Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine,” said Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern. “He loves the restaurant franchising industry tremendously and has been such a major part of several franchise systems. Plus he’s been both a franchisee and franchisor, so this award is well-deserved. BIG congrats from all of us at Big Chicken, Shaquille! We are proud to work in this great company that you brought to life.”