Big Chicken, the star-powered chicken concept founded by legendary basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, announced the opening of its newest location in the Pocono Premium Outlet Mall in Tannersville. The restaurant is slated to open ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and will be conveniently located next to the New Balance Factory Store right off the main entrance park by the food court.
As part of a multi-unit deal to bring the trending fast-casual chicken brand to areas across Monroe County in Pennsylvania, the Tannersville location will be the first to open for the experienced restaurant group, Memo II. While Big Chicken first introduced a limited selection of its mouthwatering menu items in the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, this restaurant will offer the BIG flavor and BIG food the brand is known for to residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
As part of the grand opening festivities, the first 34 guests in line on Sunday, November 26 will receive Big Chicken sandwiches for a year, limited to one sandwich per week. The 34 guests represent the number on O’Neal’s jersey, which was officially retired in 2012, during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to open our first location and are eager to serve the Tannersville community and mall-goers,” said a representative from Memo II. “Once we met Josh and the rest of the Big Chicken team, we knew that we made the right decision. We cannot wait to serve the community that we call home.”
Memo II is a Poconos area-based group that is run by experienced entrepreneurs that are local to the Tannersville area. The group has managed several Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins locations, as well as owned three Italian restaurants. As experienced restaurateurs, they’ve quickly learned the importance of building strong, successful relationships with other local business owners and their customers. Memo II chose to partner with Big Chicken due to their love for the food, aesthetic of the restaurant and the support from the Big Chicken team and its franchisee community.
“We are thrilled to bring on Memo II as operating partners, their connection to the Tannersville area is unparalleled,” said Josh Halpern, CEO of Big Chicken. “In addition to their love for the Pocono region and the restaurant industry, Memo II’s dedication to the Big Chicken is sure to bring even more BIG fun and flavor to the location.”
With 300-plus locations in development nationwide for the brand, Big Chicken currently has locations open in Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Seattle; Houston; Gilbert, Arizona; Rosemont, Illinois and in the Dayton, Ohio region, as well as in metro-New York’s UBS Arena, The Comcast Center in Philadelphia, The Moody Center in Austin, ASU’s Mullett Arena, Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena, St. Louis’s Busch Stadium, Kansas City International Airport and on three Carnival Cruise ships.
