Opening Up a $1,642,000 Restaurant, Shaquille O’Neal ‘Boasts’ About Fire Marshal Shutting Down Big Chicken’s Opening Due to Excessive Crowd

Shaquille O’Neal is as business savvy as they come. Having built up a gargantuan net worth of $400 million, his most influential investment is likely the one he has in the Authentic Brands Group. After all, it has helped him open up his very own fast-food chain, ‘Big Chicken’. However, while all seemed fine and dandy, the chain’s latest $1,642,000-worth outlet in Houston was shut down by the Fire Marshal recently. And the reason seemed to amuse the Big Diesel as he bragged about it in his Instagram stories.

Shaq has been with the Authentic Brands Group since 2015 and has since, become the second-largest investor in the company. This has enabled him to own the brand rights of celebrities such as Elvis, Muhammad Ali, and Marilyn Monroe, among others. Further, it has even enabled him to own his former endorser, Reebok.

Shaquille O’Neal shared how the Fire Marshal had to shut down his Houston outlet

As per the Houston Press, Shaq recently opened up a Big Chicken outlet in Woodlake Square in Houston. And as a result of it, not only were parking areas completely full in the area, but the crowd in the outlet was getting out of hand as well. So much so, that the Fire Marshal had to step in and shut down the operations.

Of course, the food alone didn’t do all that. No, the presence of the Lakers legend at the restaurant helped too. In fact, it was likely the biggest contributing factor to it.

At the venue, Shaq signed autographs, took pictures, and kept reminding people of how grateful he is for their support. And fortunately, those actions didn’t stop even when the Fire Marshal shut down operations for the day due to public safety hazards.

Opening up a new Big Chicken franchise isn’t cheap whatsoever. According to Mobile-Cuisine, it takes $1,642,000 to open a brand new Big Chicken outlet. However, Shaq didn’t seemed bothered by the Fire Marshal shutting down his store. Instead he bragged about it in his Instagram stories. Take a look at this screenshot of the big man’s Instagram story posted by @Tragicpatek.

Shaq seems to be happy about his Houston Big Chicken being shut down by a fire Marshal pic.twitter.com/UORLdBfghQ

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) June 27, 2023

We don’t blame him for it whatsoever. It’s free marketing, after all.

Shaq even beats out Michael Jordan as a businessman

Michael Jordan is not a poor man by any means. Today, he is worth $2 billion, holding the title of the richest former NBA player ever. His sale of his majority share in the Charlotte Hornets might increase that number substantially in the future. However, when it comes to being a pure businessman, it appears that Shaq has edged out the GOAT by a country mile.

Marketing one’s own Intellectual property can be beyond financially beneficial. While Michael Jordan has done a wonderful job at it, O’Neal has taken it to another level, almost embarrassing the GOAT in the process. Read all the details here.