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Crowds flock to Shaquille O’Neal’s Big Chicken on Hixson Pike for free year’s worth of meals

Staff photo by Jennifer McNally / No worms involved, but these early birds won a year's worth of free meals. From left are Debbie Griffith, Andrew Stephenson, Maribel Bogema, William Washington, Cody Johnson, Andy Johnson, Harrison Bogema, Markel Jackson and Jeff Johnson.
Staff photo by Jennifer McNally / No worms involved, but these early birds won a year's worth of free meals. From left are Debbie Griffith, Andrew Stephenson, Maribel Bogema, William Washington, Cody Johnson, Andy Johnson, Harrison Bogema, Markel Jackson and Jeff Johnson. Staff photo by Jennifer McNally / No worms involved, but these early birds won a year's worth of free meals. From left are Debbie Griffith, Andrew Stephenson, Maribel Bogema, William Washington, Cody Johnson, Andy Johnson, Harrison Bogema, Markel Jackson and Jeff Johnson.

By Jennifer McNally 4 min read

Note: This story was updated on March 5 to correct the relationship between Harrison Bogema and Debbie Griffith.

In the game of winning free food, William Washington has led his team to victory once again.

On Monday, Washington guided his free food group chat, consisting of Harrison Bogema, Maribel Bogema, Andrew Stephenson and Debbie Griffith, to score a year’s worth of free meals at the launch of Big Chicken on Hixson Pike — Tennessee’s first location of the franchise owned by NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal.

Last week, Washington learned the first 34 people in line would receive free chicken sandwiches for a year. But during the grand opening, he found the deal was sweeter than expected. Instead, the first 34 were rewarded with a $10 credit per week for the upcoming year, allowing them to choose menu items of their choice.

“I will be here every week for the next year,” Washington said, eating his free chicken sandwich with friends.