Raising Cane's chicken fingers restaurant will dip into Arlington Heights
A quick-service chain restaurant with a simple menu of chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw and Texas toast will dip into Arlington Heights early next year.
Raising Cane's will open in a new 3,736-square-foot outlot building at 225 E. Palatine Road in the Town & Country Shopping Center, following approvals this week by the village board.
The Arlington Heights restaurant will join Cane's locations in Naperville, Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Riverside and Harwood Heights and near Loyola University in Chicago. The company also recently broke ground on restaurants in Schaumburg, Batavia, Glen Ellyn and Westmont that are set to open this fall.
The chain has more than 430 locations in 27 states, as well as Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Founder Todd Graves wrote a business plan for the concept in college, but his professor gave him a failing grade, saying a restaurant that served only chicken fingers would never work. Graves eventually raised enough capital and got a small business loan to open his first restaurant in 1996 at Louisiana State University.
Arlington Heights village board members expressed excitement about how the restaurant could freshen up Town & Country Shopping Center. Plans call for a drive-through, two small outdoor seating areas, and an exterior mural branded with "Arlington Heights" - for which the company's architect plans to return to village hall for additional approvals.
"I think it's a great success story, and we're very happy that you've chosen Arlington Heights as your next location," Mayor Tom Hayes told business officials.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday-Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday.
Construction is slated to start in October with an opening in March 2020.