Thursday, July 27, 2023

[OPENING ALERT] Raising Cane's Confirms Opening of Newest Atlanta Area Restaurant

ToNeTo Atlanta is pleased to report that Raising Cane's plans to open their new Buford area restaurant in August.  A Google listing had indicated that the restaurant would open August 8, but the Raising Cane's website is now promoting a debut on Tuesday August 22!     

The restaurant, located at 3300 Buford Drive near Mall of Georgia, was built on the site of a demolished former Arby's. Site work complications caused significant delays in the construction of the new Raising Cane's pushing its previously planned opening several months.   

The Buford restaurant in Gwinnett County is one of at least two restaurants the Baton Rouge-based company planned to open in Georgia by the end of the year, the other being along Highway 92 in Woodstock in Cherokee County.    Unfortunately however, the Woodstock restaurant, located at 9911 Highway 92, has been pushed to "early 2024."  

The company opened an outpost in Dacula, also in Gwinnett County, this past March.  

For those unfamiliar, of which there don't seem to be many, Raising Cane's features a very simple menu with a focus on fried chicken tenders.  Menu offerings also include a fried chicken sandwich, crinkle cut fries, Texas Toast, and coleslaw, an item famously eliminated from the menu at rival Chick-fil-A in early 2016.    

ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on Cane's plans to open in metro Atlanta in December 2021 when we exclusively reported on the Raising Cane's planned for Buford Drive.  

The company will reportedly conduct a "First 100" style promotion to celebrate the opening.  The first 100 people age thirteen or older at the restaurant on opening day who purchase a combo meal will receive a complimentary Raising Cane's T-shirt.  Of those first 100 guests, the "Lucky 20" will be randomly selected to receive "Free Cane's for a Year," which equates to three free combo meals per month for a year, a value of roughly $450.    

ToNeTo Atlanta is tracking several additional Raising Cane's restaurants including one close to the perimeter and another, that if the stars align, could be the first to penetrate the perimeter and actually be within the city of Atlanta.   We hope to able to announce at least one additional location in the coming weeks.  

University of Georgia graduate Todd Graves along with his business partner Craig Silvey opened the first Raising Cane's in Baton Rouge near the LSU campus in 1996.  Graves, who worked for Guthrie's (which proudly claims to be "America's Original Chicken Finger Restaurant") while in school in Athens, would later return to the Classic City in 2006 when he opened a new Raising Cane's on land that had been home to Guthrie's from 1984 until its closure in 2004. 

Ranked by Average Unit Volume (AUV), Raising Cane's is typically second, just behind Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A.  

Raising Cane's opened their largest location to date in New York's Times Square in late June.  The more than 8,000 square foot restaurant is referred to as the company's "Global Flagship"  and is located in the historic Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway.  (Chick-fil-A entered Manhattan in 2018 with a more than 12,000 square foot restaurant that spans five stories and includes two kitchens.)

Earlier this year the company surpassed 700 Raising Cane's restaurants  across 37 states, but for now, just the two Georgia locations in Dacula and Athens.    In 2022, the company said it planned to open at least ten locations in Georgia in the coming years.    

Are you excited for the opening of Raising Cane's in metro Atlanta?  Who do you think makes the best chicken tenders?  Where else in metro Atlanta would you like to see Raising Cane's open?  

Please share your thoughts below.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can’t wait for the locations closer to the perimeter. 700 locations is scary, usually when companies grow too much they lose their quality and customer focus. I sure hope that doesn’t happen to them.

Anonymous said...

Sounds very similar to super Chix. I prefer super Chix over Chick-fil-A. All day long.

Anonymous said...

Why is it taking soooo long for Metro ATL residents to enjoy RC? Zaxby’s could use a little competition.

Ham said...

The last few times I ate at Zaxby's the biggest issue seemed to be staffing. Rude, slow and food prepared wrong. So, would Raising Canes have better luck if they move closer into the metro area? Maybe their better off sticking to the exurbs.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, WHY do they keep avoiding the Atlanta area? All the UGA alumni here who’ve been wanting this for years… we keep getting teased!

Anonymous said...

You act like real estate is cheap ITP.

Anonymous said...

I have heard that Guthrie's was going to open a restaurant in East Cobb Lower Roswell Rd & Johnson Ferry Rd soon. Can you change it to a Raising Cane's instead ? Guthries' reviews are not so great - not many stores have survived.

Anonymous said...

You act like you don’t want anyone to make comments

Anonymous said...

I’m a big Canes fan, glad to see them expanding in Georgia. Just wish they’s move closer to the Perimeter.

Zaxby’s used to be okay but the meat quality has changed. Not nearly as good as they used to be. I avoid them now.

Guthries’s was my go-to as a UGA student back in the day. The one in Dunwoody came and went very quickly, sad to say.

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