'Yep that's him': Shaq’s Belgrade pizza visit sparks Big Sky buzz

BELGRADE — When a 7-foot-1 man in a cowboy hat walked into Mackenzie River Pizza Co. on April 3, manager Savannah Henry said heads turned and forks stopped. Whispers spread through the restaurant’s back of house, with staff asking each other if they were really about to serve Shaquille O’Neal.

“Sure enough, I got out there, made eye contact with him and I was like ‘Yep that’s him’,” Henry said. “He was really friendly with everyone, talking to the servers.”

The sighting adds to a growing list of high-profile encounters in the Gallatin Valley, as the region has increasingly become a playground for the rich and famous, attracting Hollywood elites and professional athletes looking for a slice of the rugged Montana lifestyle.

Already, a roster of celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Tom Brady, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates own sprawling retreats in the ultra-exclusive Yellowstone Club in Big Sky.

And the word among staff at Mackenzie River Pizza Co. is that O’Neal has officially joined the neighborhood, according to Erika Collingwood, a line cook who was also there that day.

“He just bought a ranch up in Big Sky. That’s why he flew in the day before on his private jet,” Collingwood said. “They went down to Big Sky, and then they came back here on the way to the airport.”

Collingwood said O’Neal dined with a large group, including what appeared to be several of his sons and former teammates. While the table shared several pies, the basketball legend set his sights on one specific signature menu item — a 15-inch loaded pepperoni pizza called the “Good Ol’ Boy” — that he devoured single-handedly.

“There was a few things on that ticket, but the Good Ol’ Boy was just for him,” Collingwood said.

Henry said that once the group finished, the restaurant’s owner approached O’Neal to comp the bill. It was during that conversation that the NBA legend reportedly shared news of his recent land purchase — a detail the owner passed along to the rest of the staff.

“They said he just bought a thousand acres up in Yellowstone,” Henry said.

Though the owner covered the cost of the meal, Henry noted that O’Neal didn’t leave the staff empty-handed. He a generous tip before heading back to his private jet.