Tacoma, here’s the Big Chicken update you’ve been waiting for: Opening day details

The wait is almost over, Tacoma. Shaq’s Big Chicken has an opening date.

The chicken-sandwich franchise, co-founded in 2018 by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, will see its first location in Pierce County open May 28.

The restaurant, 2601 N. Pearl St,. Suite 500 in the Westgate North Shopping Center, is near North Pearl and North 26th streets and is Big Chicken’s first site south of Seattle.

You’ll want to show up early for the 10 a.m. opening. The first 34 customers in line will receive free Big Chicken food and drinks for a year, limited to $10 a week. The No. 34 is used to signify O’Neal’s jersey number that was retired in 2012.

Hours of operation will be 10 a.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week.

Franchisee Tony Puckett, who also owns multiple Subway shops in the area, is planning at least two more Big Chicken restaurants in the South Sound.

“Proud does not even begin to fully cover how I feel about being able to share this incredible brand with my hometown,” Puckett said in the site’s official announcement this week.

Last month, Puckett announced the site was hiring around 55-60 workers.

The Tacoma location is the chain’s fifth in the state, along with a site in Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and locations in Renton, Mukilteo and Shoreline. Nationally, Big Chicken has more than 350 restaurants in development and more than 30 in operation.

The Tacoma menu will include “The Original Big Chicken sandwich (Big Chicken Sauce and pickles), Uncle Jerome’s Nashville Hot (Nashville Hot Chicken, lettuce, mayo and pickles) and The Ultimate (mac & cheese, crispy fried onions and roasted garlic BBQ aioli), along with crispy crinkle-cut fries and delicious ice cream milkshakes,” according to the site’s announcement.

“I remember meeting Tony at our first owners’ meeting in Las Vegas back in 2022 and hearing his story about how he discovered Big Chicken,” Josh Halpern, CEO of Big Chicken, said in a statement. “He’s a foundational member of this franchise system, and I hope to have the opportunity to toast to this moment with him in person soon.”

More updates on the opening available at the Tacoma Big Chicken website.