Recently, one of Shaquille O’Neal’s brands even secured a commercial slot during Super Bowl LX. The reported cost for it was close to $8 million. Even though things are looking up, his other personal brand has been in decline for some time.

Big Chicken won the “2024 Brand of the Year” from the International Franchise Association. But the past year has seen the nationwide domination slow down. Josh Halpern, Chief Business Officer of Crave Worthy Brands, became the managing partner of Big Chicken last year. On the Restaurant Reset podcast, the Catch-22 situation of having Shaquille O’Neal as a partner was revealed.

“I have 99 problems no one else has because of Shaq. I get 99 things done for me that no one else gets because of Shaq,” said Halpern. “Shaquille is the best child mechanism on earth. People will be wrapped around the building the day we open a new restaurant because of Shaquille. He is not a repeat mechanism at all.”

For a business to make it a repeat model, the quality of the food matters. “So, we recognized quality matters, and so do our unit-level economics. And unit-level economics, especially in this day and age, are really hard. Labor costs keep going up, food costs keep going up. But we said we’re going to just fight for continuous improvement every month, every quarter. We’ll continue growing, and that’s been ultimately the play in the United States and now starting around the world.”

During the podcast, the business partner of Shaquille O’Neal also revealed that he has turned down 6,000 franchise applications in the last three years. Although the positives remain, the setbacks have been equally visible. In August 2024, not one but three Arkansas stores closed down, and that trend has continued.

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The previous prediction was 300+ units all over the country by 2026. But that number seems out of reach with more recent closures.

Problems for Shaquille O’Neal continue

One of Houston’s last remaining Big Chicken locations at 107 Yale St has closed down. The unceremonious end was quiet, as the shop now has ‘For Lease’ signs. This brings a sharp decline for Shaquille O’Neal, especially in Houston’s competitive fast-casual dining scene.

This was opened in 2024, and at that time Houston fire marshal had to shut down the event because of overcrowding conditions. But now it’s closed forever. Shaq’s eldest daughter, Taahirah O’Neal, often appeared at the Houston restaurants to market the family brand. Similar to this, other restaurants in Massachusetts, Florida, and even Shaq’s beloved Las Vegas closed down over the past year.

Some of the locations closed within a year. While others reportedly closed and pursued their own fast-food chain, citing building their “in-house” brand. His business partner, Halpern, has explained the challenges. Whatever the reasons be this doesn’t bode well for O’Neal.