Raising who? Louisiana fast-food chicken tender chain makes South Beach debut
Craving chicken fingers, South Beach? A Louisiana fast-food chain has landed and made its debut off Lincoln Road, adding to the growing number of eateries it has planned for South Florida.
Raising Cane’s — founded in Baton Rouge by Louisiana State University student Todd Graves on campus in August 1996 and named for his Labrador Retriever Raising Cane — opened its second Miami-Dade restaurant at 1651 Washington Ave. last week to a line out the door, company spokeswoman Julia Doyle said.
The eatery with a following of loyalists called Caniacs features Cane’s special sauce, crinkle-cut fries, sweet tea and the hallmark tenders. The South Beach site sits across from the New World Symphony and steps from the outdoor mall Lincoln Road.
After opening in Homestead in November, Raising Cane’s intends to open another seven restaurants in South Florida and elsewhere in Florida this year. Right now, the chain with more than 600 U.S. restaurants has the two regional spots in Miami-Dade and one coming in Clearwater at the end of the month.
“South Florida, and the entire state of Florida, has been a target for us for years. It has been about finding the right real estate, and we feel very good about the sites we have selected,” Doyle said by email. “We picked this site, on the corner of Lincoln Road and Washington, because of its visibility and how high traffic the area is. It is great exposure for the brand, as we work to expand our presence around South Florida.”
The arrival of Raising Cane’s brings another food chain to Miami Beach. For years, independently-owned retailers and restaurants have exited Lincoln Road due to high rents and concerns regarding foot traffic. More restaurant chains are on the way, including the Cheesecake Factory.
“Rents are very high; that’s why you’re getting the chains,” said Mirielle Enlow, former chair of the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Real Estate Council.
She noted, “It’s who can afford the rent. It’s the same thing as the Cheesecake Factory. That corner was deteriorated and I was impressed how they’ve made it. I miss my mom and pops (shops). (But) I’d rather have a Cheesecake Factory there than a vacant building. If it’s going to take chains to bring these buildings back to their beauty, then I guess that’s what it’s going to have to take.”
While national restaurant chains are arriving in Miami Beach, other chains like Regal, once a big movie theater operator, are exiting — in a sign of the times when watching flicks at home has overtaken going out to see movies on the big screen.
Curious about where and when the other Raising Cane’s are coming to South Florida and elsewhere in the Sunshine State? Here are the locations:
Miami-Dade
▪ Cutler Bay, 19705 South Dixie Highway (summer 2023)
▪ Doral, intersection of Northwest 36th Street and Northwest 82nd Avenue (fall 2023)
Broward
▪ Pompano Beach, 2501 Federal Highway (summer 2023)
Palm Beach
▪ Boynton Beach, 1550 West Boynton Beach Blvd. (April 2023)
▪ Royal Palm Beach, 100 N. State Road 7 (spring 2023)
Elsewhere in Florida
▪ Clearwater, 2525 Gulf to Bay Blvd. (Jan. 31)
▪ Port St. Lucie, 1549 Northwest St. and Lucie West Blvd. (summer 2023)
