QSR June 2023

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

With Shaquille O’Neal as a founder and a lineup of handheld menu items, Big Chicken is a natural fit for conces sions. Founded five years ago by the NBA Hall of Famer, the fast-casual chain is rapidly expanding its footprint in stadi ums and arenas. The brand opened its first concession stand in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena in late 2021, and by early 2023, it had surpassed 100,000 sandwiches sold in the venue. “I don’t think anyone could have imagined how success ful we would be in these arenas,” CEO Josh Halpern says. “Now, we’re entering arenas constantly, and it’s a major part of our strategy.” The Climate Pledge Arena outlet was the first fast-casual restaurant in the country to feature Amazon’s Just Walk Out Technology and Amazon One, enabling guests to forgo the long lines that are a perennial part of the game day expe rience. The system is similar to Amazon Go, the tech giant’s

 IT WASN’T EASY, BUT CONCESSIONS SUCCESSFULLY ADAPTED DURING COVID TIMES.

www.qsrmagazine.com | QSR | JUNE 2023

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