Raising Cane’s opens in Fredericksburg with traffic galore

by HURIEH ABED

Staff Writer

On Oct. 31, Raising Cane’s opened their first location in Fredericksburg at 3071 Plank Road near the Spotsylvania Towne Center. 

Raising Cane’s is known for its “ONE LOVE” chicken finger meals. The “ONE LOVE” motto refers to the restaurant’s love of making chicken tenders, and their signature Cane’s Sauce, which is a blend of barbecue sauce, ketchup and mayonnaise and is distinct compared to other restaurants’ sauces. 

Their menu primarily features chicken finger-based dishes and meal combinations, as well as a fried chicken sandwich. Additionally, their sides include crinkle-cut French fries, coleslaw and Texas toast. Customers can complement their meals with beverages like lemonade and sweet tea. 

Before this location opened, the closest Raising Cane’s to Fredericksburg was in Waldorf, Md.

Bayan Ahamad, a devoted Raising Cane’s customer and a senior English major, reflected on the restaurant opening in Fredericksburg. 

“I am so glad that we finally have a Cane’s in Fredericksburg,” said Ahamad. “I have to travel at least an hour to get really good chicken tenders.” 

The excitement surrounding the grand opening made Plank Road the average driver’s nightmare, and a massive chain of cars extended out onto Carl D. Silver Parkway, backing up the main road. At the restaurant, there is a double drive-thru and covered outdoor seating, as well as seating inside.

I had never been to Raising Cane’s before, so I was interested to see if it lived up to the hype.

It was also the first time eating at Raising Cane’s for Rawan Saadah, a junior computer science major. She experienced similar difficulties in getting to the restaurant.

“The line was very confusing at first and I actually made a wrong turn,” she said. “When I finally got to the line, it was extremely long.”

On first impression, getting into the restaurant was very confusing, as I had to pass the building in order to turn in and join the line of cars in the drive-thru. Coupled with the confusing layout and the drive-thru line being extremely long, I took this as an opportunity to eat inside. 

While the dine-in line seemed just as long, time flew by, as I was excited to finally get a taste of what all the buzz was about. Inside, the restaurant was filled with commotion from the amount of people, and there were a lot of employees behind the counter, which allowed them to take and distribute orders at a steady pace. 

When it was my turn to order, I was surprised that there were only really two items on the menu: chicken fingers and the one chicken sandwich. I got the standard combo: chicken fingers, fries, Texas toast and the Cane’s sauce. I decided to try the combo rather than the sandwich since I have never been there before. 

Despite having a large seating area, there was no place to sit, but I believe that was because I went there at dinner time and the restaurant had just opened. Since all the seating was occupied, I took my food home and ate it there. Even though it was a little cold, the food was still good. I tried the fries first, which lacked seasoning and were pretty average overall. 

The next thing I tried were the iconic chicken fingers, which were really good, but they were a little dry, so I relied on the sauce to enhance the taste. The chicken was evenly coated with the breading, but they were also dry because of the amount of breading that was on them.

The best part of what I ordered was the Texas toast, which was both sweet and salty. Because of how good it was, I piled the chicken and the fries onto the toast and poured the sauce on top. If I were to eat at Raising Cane’s again, I would eat it like this. Overall, if I had to rate Cane’s out of ten, I would give it a six. 

Zander Loy, a senior historic preservation and geography double major, shared his thoughts on the chain opening up.

“It was very overhyped and honestly kind of sub-par for my first time having it,” said Loy. “The fries were a bit soggy and the bread was very plain. Best thing about the meal was the chicken, although it seemed like any other chicken you could get.”

According to WTOP News, Raising Cane’s was founded in 1996. The restaurant has experienced significant growth over the years and now operates at over 750 locations. In fact, the company is planning to open up to 100 new locations in the current year. Currently, there are more than 700 Raising Cane’s restaurants throughout the United States, including locations in Sterling, Charlottesville and Norfolk. Furthermore, in light of the location opening in Fredericksburg, Raising Cane’s has already hired nearly 100 employees for the restaurant, according to WTOP News. 

Charlie Li contributed to reporting for this article.