When Jax Sperling joined Craveworthy Brands as VP of culinary and supply chain seven months ago, one of her first challenges was a menu refresh for Big Chicken.
Her vision was to return the menu to its roots, adding several upgrades, a new snack category and bigger, bolder items. “I wanted to create a menu that was as big and bold as Shaq himself,” said Sperling, “bringing back the brand promise and bringing smiles to customers.”
She created a new Shaq Snacks category to give newbies a chance to try the food in a smaller portion at a lower price point, and added platters and oversize sandwiches to target to guests with bigger appetites. “I piled a lot on the sandwiches to give them a nice height,” Sperling said. “I tried to make the sandwiches look as big as Shaq’s hands,” admitting that she fell a little short when the basketball star actually picked one up to take a bite.
The complete menu refresh rolled out in early August.
Feeding the snacking craze
Chicken tenders have been core to Big Chicken since the Las Vegas-based fast casual launched in 2018 with Shaquille O’Neal as one of the founding partners. The menu is rooted in Shaq’s childhood favorites, and that still holds true seven years later. But consumer research revealed that there were some gaps.
“People are looking for the snacking daypart and more value,” Sperling said. “The smaller portions and price tags allow guests to try one snack or a variety of things.” A la carte, Shaq Snacks run about $6.99, and with fries, about $9.49.
El Shaquito is one of five new Shaq Snacks introduced earlier this month.
And each generous snack is crafted with big flavor impact. The five varieties each feature a crispy chicken tender stacked on buttery garlic toast and are elevated with sauces and toppings. The Hot Shot, for example, brings on the heat with pickled jalapeños and texture with fried cheese curds, while the El Shaquito is topped with Cholula mayo, white American cheese and elote—a new recipe. A smoky and slightly spicy ancho sauce, crunchy onion ring, coleslaw and pepperjack cheese go on the Smokehouse, and the Mushroom Melt is topped with sauteed mushrooms. “I tried to bring more flavor and vegetables into the mix, and add some playful, fun touches,” said Sperling.
She also experimented with a Shaq Snack that combined pimento cheese and chicken tenders, but that didn’t test as well. “It leaned more Southern and was further outside the box than the core menu,” she said, adding that it may still be slotted as a limited-time offer in 2026.
Some new SKUs were brought in for the snack menu, but they can be “building blocks” for other items, said the chef. The Cholula mayo is already being used as a base for coleslaw, and other products are going into the sandwiches and sides. “I engineer the menu to have a use for every ingredient at least twice,” Sperling added.
Over-the-top sandwiches and plates
When it came to sandwiches, Sperling expanded the menu section and enhanced some of the components. “We did an upgrade on the Nashville seasoning, so now we have a Nashville hot that we call Holy, which is really, really hot,” she said. “We also gave the onion rings a bit of a facelift. We made them bigger with a more satisfying crunch.”
Three new sandwiches joined the lineup. The Big Drip layers crispy chicken, French onion mayo, Swiss cheese, sauteed mushrooms, bacon and onion rings on a brioche bun, while The Pit Boss piles chicken, barbecue sauce, cheddar, cheese curds, pickles and onion rings on the same bun. Both overstuffed sandwiches are “textural and sensory delights,” said Sperling, and sell for about $10.99 a la carte and $13.49 with fries.
A third new sandwich is the Philly Fadeaway, a combo of grilled chicken, American cheese, caramelized onions, peppers and mushrooms on a hoagie roll—Big Chicken’s take on a Philly cheesesteak.
Combo meals morphed into entree plates in response to consumer feedback.
Platters are a newer format for the 46-unit chain. Previously, customers could order combo meals of chicken tenders, fries and a drink, but now there’s the option of larger plates that provide a heartier meal. The three- and five-piece plates, for example, include three or five hand-breaded tenders, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw and Texas Toast along with a choice of eight sauces. Mac and cheese and the recently added elote can be ordered as sides.
“Consumers told us to put the tenders on a platter, so we listened and delivered what they wanted,” said Sperling.
What’s next?
More limited-time offers are in the works, released on a quarterly basis. “It could be a sandwich, Shaq Snack or milkshakes, and they’ll usually have a theme. Nothing’s off limits, as long as it’s big, bold and fun,” Sperling said.
But she plans to take a breath first, and make sure the restaurants have enough time to execute this major menu refresh before rolling out anything in the fall.