Local residents won’t have to wait much longer to get Raising Cane’s chicken tenders and special sauce in downtown State College.
The Louisiana-based restaurant chain will hold a grand opening at 8 a.m. on June 14 for its location at 228 E. College Ave.
Customers who visit between 8 and 9 a.m. on opening day can enter to be among 20 who will win free Raising Cane’s food for a year. Winners will be announced between 9 and 10 a.m. The first 100 dine-in customers to purchase a combo will receive a custom T-shirt.
Raising Cane’s has more than 600 locations and State College will be its second in Pennsylvania, joining one in Philadelphia that opened earlier this month. The company is planning to open 100 new locations across 10 markets this year.
Founded by Todd Graves in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near the LSU campus, Raising Cane’s has a deliberately limited menu that in addition to its chicken fingers and tangy Cane’s Sauce includes crinkle-cut fries, cole slaw, Texas toast and drinks.
“We have locations outside of college campuses, but State College was an attractive location for us as we expanded on the East Coast because of this location’s proximity to the Penn State campus,” Adam Caracci, East Coast property development manager, told the State College Zoning Hearing Board in May 2021 when the company sought a variance related to the positioning of a new accessible ramp at the 105-year-old building where the new restaurant will be located.
According to its application for a building permit, Raising Cane’s expected to perform an estimated $1.6 million in renovations to the building’s first story.
The company originally anticipated opening the new location in April, but noted potential delays could push back the timeline.
