Meet former NFL professional football wide receiver Randy Moss. He is a Pro Football Hall of Famer and a commentator for ESPN who got into the fried chicken space after getting to know about Crisspi’s Chicken, which started as Chick-A-Boom, a small restaurant franchise in Philadelphia in 2019.
Moss became aware of the restaurant in November 2022 after liking a sponsored Instagram post of it. The owners of Chick-A-Boom, Brittany Tolliferreo and her husband Kirk Hightower, reached out to the former NFL star after realizing that he had liked their post. They told him the vision they had for the business.
The following year, Moss visited Philadelphia, met Tolliferreo and Hightower, and tasted their food. Not too long after, he invested in the business and started mapping out plans for its growth, according to Forbes.
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“I’m a chicken lover. Not only was I impressed by the food, but after hearing Brittany’s story and understanding that a lot of our same goals and morals align, it was only right to invest.”
In June 2023, Moss helped in opening Chick-A-Boom’s drive-though location in Philadelphia. At the time, the company also had a Chick-A-Boom food truck in the city and a concession stand at Lincoln Financial Field.
It also said that it planned to open its next store in West Virginia, where Moss grew up and played college football at Marshall University.
Indeed, that same year, the former six-time Pro Bowl pick and five-time NFL receiving leader opened the chain’s first location in downtown Huntington, West Virginia. Now, he is set to bring the restaurant to Florida in January 2025.
“Get ready, Miami! Crisppi’s Chicken is officially opening its doors on January 17th at 2917 Biscayne Blvd! Come for the crispy, stay for the flavor. ???? Don’t miss out on the hottest new spot in town—we’ll see you there! #CrisppisChicken #MiamiEats #GrandOpening #BiscayneBlvd,” he posted on Instagram.
Menu items will include chicken sandwiches, chicken wings, chicken and waffles, and chicken nuggets.
“For me to be able to be an entrepreneur, to team up with Brittany and her husband and her team here at Chick-A-Boom has been everything that I expected it to be,” Moss said to Forbes about working with the couple.
Tolliferreo worked as a bank teller before founding Chick-A-Boom, now operating under the name Crisppi’s Chicken. “(Cooking) was something that I definitely loved,” she said to Forbes. “I like to be creative and just be in the kitchen, so it just it just worked for me.”
Tolliferreo and her husband had plans of expanding Chick-A-Boom for years but were not successful until Moss invested.
“I’ve gotten feedback (from other celebrities and athletes),” Tolliferreo said. “But one thing I can say about Randy is that Randy is a man of his word. I explained to Randy what my vision was, and he believed in me. With other people, not everything might have worked out, but with Randy it did. I’m very grateful for that.”
