Shaq's Big Chicken is muscling into the Elev8 entertainment complex at Citrus Park this summer, sliding the celebrity-backed chicken chain into the middle of a mall-area playground built for all-day hangouts. The new spot will tuck Shaquille O’Neal’s fast-casual sandwiches, tenders and milkshakes alongside Elev8's go-karts, laser tag and arcade games. For Tampa Bay diners, it means one more big-name option in a venue that clearly wants families and groups to park it for hours. It also marks another move in Big Chicken's steady march across the Tampa market.
Local report: restaurant to sit inside Elev8
According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the new Big Chicken will operate inside Elev8's Citrus Park location. The July 10, 2026 report frames the deal as part of the chain's ongoing regional buildout. That coverage also confirms the arrangement as a formal partnership between the restaurant brand and the entertainment center operator.
Operator explains the fit
David Goldfarb, Elev8's principal managing partner, told RePlay Magazine that Tampa's park is slated to get Big Chicken in July, with Miami lined up for September. "We were already serving California Pizza Kitchen and Mr. Beast Burger inside Elev8…Chicken was the one category we felt was missing," Goldfarb said, pitching the move as a way to complete the venue's food lineup. His comments underscore a clear play to pair recognizable national brands with a family-entertainment setting.
Menu and timing
On its Tampa page, Big Chicken spotlights a menu built around stacked chicken sandwiches, tenders, loaded fries and milkshakes, a lineup that tracks closely with the quick-service fare these kinds of venues tend to lean on. Industry writeups of the Elev8 partnership describe the Tampa debut as a late-summer arrival, with a July window for the Citrus Park counter and a September opening circled for Miami. Those timing notes are drawn from trade coverage and the brand's own location listings.
Where inside Citrus Park
The Citrus Park Big Chicken will run as a counter inside Elev8 Fun's site at Citrus Park Town Center, which promotes itself as an indoor entertainment complex of roughly 100,000 square feet. Elev8's Tampa listing touts electric go-karts, a ropes course, mini-golf, bowling and a sizable arcade, along with late-night programming and live bands to keep the crowds coming after dark. Parking a recognizable food brand inside that kind of setup is meant to stretch visits and pull in more party and group business.
Big Chicken's Tampa footprint so far
Big Chicken has already planted a flag in the Tampa market with a prior opening last year, and the Elev8 tie-in nudges the brand further into the family-entertainment lane. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay covered that earlier debut and placed it within a larger Florida expansion effort. For locals, the Citrus Park outpost simply adds another way to run into the Shaq-branded menu, whether at a standalone storefront or in the middle of a high-energy play zone.
What to watch next
Expect official word on opening dates and menu specifics from both Elev8 and Big Chicken in the coming weeks, as trade outlets have already pegged the park-level counter for a July arrival. The partnership taps into a wider industry trend of family entertainment centers bringing in national quick-service operators to lift food-and-beverage sales and simplify party packages, a strategy Elev8 leadership has talked up in trade interviews. We will update when Elev8 pins down a ribbon-cutting date and the brand lays out any special menu twists or event tie-ins.
