By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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- Below: Q&A on Raising Cane’s, from construction timeline to hours, traffic, employment and more.
ROCKFORD — Caniacs will need to be patient before they can chow down at the city’s first Raising Cane’s restaurant.
The fast food chain that specializes in chicken fingers is targeting an October 2025 opening for its restaurant at 6445 E. State St., which was formerly Stone Eagle Tavern and before that, Cheddar’s. Raising Cane’s refers to its biggest fans as Caniacs and has a customer appreciation program called the Caniac Club.
The city’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 7-0 Tuesday night to recommend approval of a special-use permit that allows for a drive-thru restaurant to operate in that space. The measure goes before the city’s Code and Regulation Committee on Monday and could be approved by City Council by April 1.
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Raising Cane’s plans to demolish the former Stone Eagle, which closed in February after 15 years in business when owner Jimmy Vitale learned the land was going to be sold. Stone Eagle had proudly advertised itself as “not a chain restaurant.”
Raising Cane’s said that it thinks of itself as more than a chain.
“Cane’s doesn’t want to just be here as a business … it wants to be part of the community,” said Sarah Holmes of HD Group, the property development manager for Raising Cane’s. “Every single Cane’s is focused on being a good community partner and giving back to the local community.”
Holmes, who is based in Houston, was here Tuesday for the ZBA meeting to detail the project and answer questions from the committee.
“Prior to opening the doors, the crew will have an opportunity to do a community volunteer event that they choose,” she said. “Cane’s also, after opening, wants to hold fundraisers, wants to give back to local schools or pet shelters, food banks, anything like that.
“They really take a strong focus in giving back.”
Here’s a look at what to expect when Raising Cane’s comes to town:
When will construction start?
Raising Cane’s plans to demolish the former Stone Eagle in the next month or two, Holmes said.
The anticipated start of construction is March 2025, but that could be sooner depending on permits with the city and the state. The goal is to open by October 2025.
There is an option for the restaurant to provide funding for sidewalks to the city rather than build the sidewalks itself. That option could speed up the construction timeline, Holmes said.
How big is the restaurant?
Raising Cane’s will build a new 3,225-square-foot restaurant after demolishing Stone Eagle Tavern.
“We do not go by a one-size-fits-all method,” Holmes said. “Every single site is designed with the functionality of that individual location in mind.”
How many people will work there?
Raising Cane’s will employ approximately 55 people in Rockford, with an average of eight employees per shift.
What hours will it be open?
Raising Cane’s is open seven days a week. The restaurant will operate 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The late night and early-morning hours are “partly due to being open for emergency services,” Holmes said. “Cane’s really does want to provide an option to workers who have midnight shifts and our emergency service responders.”
How fast is it?
The average time for service is two minutes and 28 seconds, Holmes said.
“As soon as you pull on site they call ‘dropping bird,’ which means that they start cooking the chicken and really expedite customers through that drive-thru,” Holmes said.
Part of the speed is because of Raising Cane’s simplified menu, which focuses on chicken fingers with your choice of sauces and sides.
“When you drive up to the site you know exactly what you’re going to order,” Holmes said. “It cuts down on the time that it takes to get you from being on site to getting your food and driving off.”
What about traffic?
During peak hours they will have employees with tablets ahead of the menu boards, and they will walk orders to the outer lane to increase the efficiency of moving cars through the drive-thru.
Holmes said there will be off-duty police officers on hand to handle traffic management during its “honeymoon period” after opening for additional traffic and pedestrian safety.
Jeremy Carter, the city’s traffic and development engineer, said Raising Cane’s plans show that any traffic backup should be contained to their site.
“I’m not anticipating that it’s going to have too big of an impact given the amount of traffic that’s already generated,” Carter said. “It will be a lot of pass-by trips.”
How many Raising Cane’s are there
Raising Cane’s opened 13 new restaurants in January and 10 new restaurants in February, according to reports from the company. That brings its total to more than 780 restaurants across the world.
Where is the closest Raising Cane’s to Rockford?
The nearest Raising Cane’s is 2411 Sycamore Road in DeKalb. There are also multiple locations in Chicagoland and one in Madison.
“Cane’s has been looking for opportunities to grow since it is pretty new to the greater Chicago area, and we’re happy to be coming to Rockford,” Holmes said.
What does Raising Cane’s serve?
Raising Cane’s, which was founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisana, by Todd Graves, is focused solely on chicken with a menu that includes chicken fingers, fries, coleslaw and Texas toast. There is also a sandwich made with three chicken fingers. You can see the menu here.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas