The first Raising Cane’s in the Triangle and the third in North Carolina was set to open on Franklin Street this past spring. However, the renovation of the restaurant is ongoing and no updated opening date has been announced.
The Daily Tar Heel's Annika Duneja talked to Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents about their expectations for the new restaurant, its delay and construction so far.
Thomas Moody-Jones, UNC third-year
"I knew there was like a hole in the wall because they just had a hole out to the street — so I saw it — but I never really knew what it was. And then people kept complaining that Cane’s wasn't opening on their Instagram stories and I was like, 'Oh they're opening a Cane's!'"
“I think Cane’s is kind of overrated. I kept hearing all this good stuff about it. Everyone's like, ‘You're gonna love Cane’s when you go to Mississippi,’ and I went to Mississippi and I tried Cane’s and I was like, 'This is fine.'”
Ross Martin, former Chapel Hill resident
"It's obviously a chain, which certainly doesn't please everyone in Chapel Hill, but it seems like these days, it's harder and harder for local businesses and mom-and-pop shops to survive on Franklin Street. So it's almost the nature of the business now that you have to have some sort of big financial backing."
“I think a chicken place right there in the heart of Franklin Street is perfect for college kids, or for game day. An easy quick meal before a football game, after a football game, before a basketball game."
"I think that location is good because of the amount of foot traffic. So, once it gets open, I think it'll be cooking. I think it'll be a popular place. So yeah, it's exciting. I think people are ready for it to be there. You kind of hope they will be there for the football season — that's not going to happen.”
