Fast-casual chicken concept Big Chicken opens its second permanent Massachusetts location on August 22 in Beverly, with local franchise group JBMM Hospitality — Barry Lattuca, James O'Hanlon, Michael Scibelli, and Martin LaChance — operating the 55 Dodge Street unit. The opening marks a meaningful back-of-house buildout milestone for a franchise system that now counts more than 40 locations open and dozens more in development across North America.
JBMM's Franchise Path
JBMM's Massachusetts trajectory illustrates a deliberate market-entry and kitchen-build strategy that equipment dealers and consultants active in the fast-casual segment will recognize. The group first tested demand through a mobile pop-up — the brand's "Dunk Truck" — at Wrentham Premium Outlets in 2025, then committed to a permanent storefront there in January 2026 before adding the Beverly kitchen. That sequential approach, moving from commissary-style mobile unit to fixed BOH buildout, mirrors a broader trend in fast-casual franchising where operators use limited-format pop-ups to validate throughput requirements before investing in a full kitchen equipment package.
For operators specifying kitchen builds in tight suburban footprints, Big Chicken's menu mix — pressure-fried or breaded chicken sandwiches, tenders, signature sides, and hand-spun milkshakes — represents a demanding spec list. Fry capacity, holding equipment, and shake-blending stations all require careful sizing against projected ticket volume, particularly for a brand that depends on speed-of-service at grand-opening traffic levels.
Expansion Format and BOH Implications
Big Chicken CEO Gregg Majewski characterized Beverly as meeting the brand's site-selection criteria, and the format itself spans an unusually wide range of venue types: traditional storefronts, arenas, airports, and cruise ships. That venue diversity places significant demands on the brand's equipment specification playbook, as each format requires a distinct kitchen footprint, ventilation strategy, and utility load. Arena and cruise-ship installs in particular often rely on ventless cooking technology and compact refrigeration solutions to satisfy building constraints that a standalone storefront would not face.
For dealer channel partners tracking fast-casual kitchen rollouts, Big Chicken's pipeline of "dozens more in development" represents a recurring equipment procurement opportunity. Franchise systems at this stage of growth typically standardize around approved equipment lists, making early positioning with the franchise's purchasing team or its food service consultant of record a key business development move. The Beverly opening reinforces that JBMM has the operational runway — and the demonstrated site performance from Wrentham — to continue building units, which could mean additional local kitchen buildouts on the North Shore.
The Beverly location operates Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., a schedule that implies consistent evening daypart volume and underscores the need for reliable refrigeration and holding equipment capable of maintaining food safety compliance across a full operating day.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
