Raising Cane's bringing chicken fingers to Ontario

ONTARIO — City officials know the location of the upcoming Raising Cane's restaurant but are holding off on disclosing it.

Eddie Gallo, president of Ontario City Council, said the location will be on Lexington-Springmill Road in an existing business that is going to close.

"I don't want an employee in this space to find out about it in the news," Gallo said.

Raising Cane's is one of the country's fastest growing chains, known for its chicken fingers. In November, the News Journal published an article after the restaurant posted two local job openings on its website.

"It's been a long-floated rumor," Gallo said. "That's the most talked-about rumor in the city. Is Raising Cane's coming? Is Chick-fil-A coming?"

Raising Cane's filed paperwork with Ontario's zoning inspector on June 20. Gallo said he did not have a timeline for construction.

"We hope to get more details going forward," he said.

Raising Cane's is based in Louisiana

Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Raising Cane's is doing for chicken tenders what Chick-fil-A, another Southern-born chain, has done for chicken sandwiches — making tastier fast-food versions to popularize all over the country, according to a May 2018 USA TODAY report.

2024:Raising Cane's expands in New York, California, Florida

Founder Todd Graves had the idea to open a chicken finger-focused restaurant and recruited his friend and business partner, Craig Silvey, to help.

They submitted a business plan as part of a course at Louisiana State University, but according to the company's online history, the plan got the worst grade in the class.

"The professor said a chicken finger restaurant would never work. The banks said the same," Graves posted on the website.

Graves still believed in the concept and saved enough money after stints working as a boilermaker in a Louisiana refinery and then as a salmon fisherman in Alaska to open his first restaurant in Baton Route in 1996.

Now that Raising Cane's is coming to Ontario, Gallo says the city would still like to attract a Chick-fil-A.

"If we get one, it would be supported by seven counties," the council president said. "This is a spot for people to shop and eat without having to go to an urban area an hour away."

mcaudill@gannett.com

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