When Me’Arah O’Neal has a case of the munchies on the road, she’s not pulling up in front of a Big Chicken. Shaquille O’Neal’s daughter revealed she actually patronizes a rival chain. Meezy is now attending the University of Florida, prepping for her first college season, and building her own online fame. She stopped by ESPN Radio’s Gainesville station to reveal more about herself. A big part of Me’Arah’s identity is being different from her NBA legend dad. Apart from their very different playing styles, Shaq and Meezy’s tastes differ too.

When Miguel Molina asked her where is she stopping if she gets hungry on the road, Me’Arah easily said, “Chick-fil-A.” To be fair, a Big Chicken location has not opened in Gainesville. Lake City got a store in March 2024 and a location in Doral is reportedly in development. But there is a Big Chicken in Houston where Meezy lived with her mom and played basketball at Episcopal High.

Then again, as much as Big Chicken is designed off Shaq’s favorite childhood meals, he loves other brands too. He’s a fan of Papa John’s and the Cheesecake Factory, he can be seen eating at In-N-Out and almost any establishment with a good fried chicken.

Like her dad, Meezy has specific tastes too. The 18-year-old’s go-to at Chick-fil-A is the 12-count chicken nuggets meal, “large,” the sweet tea, and barbecue sauce.

Celebrating the O’Neal family’s favorite foods, Big Chicken has partnered with Bite Kiosk to create the ‘The O’Neal Family Secret Menu’ which is not on the official restaurant menu. This interactive offering gives diners the chance to have a sandwich the way Shaq loves it or even his mom, Lucille’s Sunday Dinner combo.

His family was the muse behind Big Chicken. And if it wasn’t for them, Me’Arah’s answer wouldn’t be that surprising.

Big Chicken Shaq is family-first

Shaquille O’Neal’s signature “Barbecue Chicken Alert” was so marketable, he was drawing offers from every major chicken brand. However, O’Neal is very selective about his brand deals. Growing up, his mother made a discounted chicken from the commissary work for multiple meals among four kids.

That stuck with Shaq and  “So when all the chicken companies called and said, ‘hey, man you’re on air, doing barbecue chicken alert, come be our spokesperson,’ Shaquille’s like, ‘that would sort of be cheating on Mama Lucille, can’t do it, got to build my own’, and Big Chicken was born,” said Big Chicken CEO, Josh Halpern.

Halpern has opened multiple Big Chicken franchises this year, including in Fort Worth very recently. Halpern is also involving Lucille along with O’Neal’s eldest daughter, Taahirah, in marketing. Shaq’s fast-casual dining chain has thrived in the competitive chicken-lovers’ destination of Texas. But it’s now going into locations where other celebrity restaurants have failed.

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In fact, Chick-Fil-A ended Guy Fieri’s Chicken Guy in Michigan within a year. Big Chicken is opening in the exact spot soon. But there’s nothing an O’Neal loves more than competition. Shaq won’t necessarily mind his kids pick a rival. But maybe a Big Chicken near The Swamp next?