The Observation Deck

I just got off the phone with a member of Champion Management Group, this is the group that works with Raising Cane's new restaurants on getting open. According to their representative, the Lakewood Raising Cane's, the 463rd restaurant they have opened, should be open in about 500 hours from when you read this. This will be the second Raising Cane's in the Cleveland area, and should be a real draw for Chicken Finger lovers, and "Caniacs" as they refer to their loyal customers.

Loyal customers or "Caniacs" is very much an understatement. In the 5 months since we announced them coming to Lakewood, I have had the pleasure of speaking with people about the need for chicken fingers. The other person generally nods in agreement, then when you mention Raising Cane's their eyes light up and something kicks in. "Oh my God, you didn't say Raising Cane's was coming! They are the best chicken fingers in the world." Something to be honest, I never thought about-- who has the best chicken fingers in the world. They quickly go on, "Not just the best chicken fingers but best chicken." At first I doubted this, I know some damn good chicken places. But as I spoke to more and more people who had tried Raising Cane's the more I started to be convinced there might be something to this. "Caniacs are simply that. Once you try Raising Cane's you seem to turn over all your chicken needs to them." Darn near like a cult.

Russell, the person at Champion Management I spoke with chuckled when I spoke of this. He said "Caniacs are a large part of our success and business model, and we really appreciate them and all of our customers. One of our secrets is that Raising Cane's only uses locally grown chicken, never frozen. Well except for Hawaii and they are looking for a source over there."

Raising's Cane's is a rapidly growing company that has consistently been ranked among the top restaurants for Overall Customer Satisfaction based on food quality, customer service, cleanliness and other important factors. Raising Cane’s has been named a Top 10 brand for craveability and was recently recognized as having the Most Loyal Guests – known as “Caniacs” – in the fast-casual segment in Technomic’s 2018 Consumers’ Choice Awards.

Founded by Todd Graves in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., and named after his Labrador Retriever RAISING CANE'S CHICKEN FINGERS has more than 460 restaurants in 27 states, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, with multiple new restaurants under construction. The company has ONE LOVE®—quality chicken finger meals—and is continually recognized for its unique business model and customer satisfaction. Raising Cane’s vision is to have restaurants all over the world and be the brand for quality chicken finger meals, a great crew, cool culture and active community involvement.

In a city that has proven locally-owned rules, Raising Cane's management team are sure "One Love" will win Lakewood over with their quality, taste, service and price. Lakewoodites will soon be Caniacs too.

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Jim O'Bryan wrote: One of our secrets is that Raising Cane's only uses locally grown chicken, never frozen."

Ah ...now that whole Lakewood Backyard Hens thing makes sense. What foresight (or insider information) they had!!!

Breaded chicken deep fried in a blend of soybean and canola oil!

More cardiology patients for the Cleveland Clinic!

What a win!

Bridget

While I find it ironic, the City Hall Administration that paid $50,000 for the line, "Trying to become healthiest city in America," would be so gleeful over this.

Have you spoken with any patrons of Raising Cane's? I have not seen anything like it. Chick-Fil-A uses religion, political statements, and conservative fodder to get their customers and keep them loyal. From what I have heard, Raising Cane's uses high quality, good portions, with great service to keep customers coming back, and eventually becoming Caniacs. The sauce is one of the biggest reasons people come back. From their website... Cane’s Sauce is tangy with a little bit of spice and full of flavor. We use our own proprietary blend of premium seasonings and spices in our Sauce and our Restaurant General Managers make a new batch every day in each Raising Cane’s kitchen. Our Sauce recipe is top secret and known only by our General Managers, who are sworn to secrecy (so don’t even ask).


At Raising Cane’s, it all starts with the chicken finger. The 100% premium white meat chicken tenderloins are marinated, hand-battered and cooked to order. The menu is also renowned for its craveable – some say addictive – secret-recipe Cane’s sauce, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw, Texas toast, freshly brewed sweet tea and fresh-squeezed lemonade. The company is likewise known for its commitment to active community involvement, centered on its six areas of focus: education, feeding the hungry, pet welfare, business development and entrepreneurship, active lifestyles and “everything else!”

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Jim O'Bryan wrote:Chick-Fil-A uses religion, political statements, and conservative fodder to get their customers and keep them loyal.

Have to disagree with this one. Their food (which is good), pricing (which is good) and their customer service (which is great) is why their customers are loyal. Their politics (which is, IMHO, not even close to great) is why I don't frequent them any more even though I enjoy their food.

The religion, political statements and conservative fodder aren't what keep the customers loyal. In fact, I doubt most customers at the super long drive-thru line at Westgate even know what Chick-Fil-A's politics are. They just like the food, pricing and customer service.

JMHO.

Matthew Lee wrote:

Jim O'Bryan wrote:Chick-Fil-A uses religion, political statements, and conservative fodder to get their customers and keep them loyal.

Have to disagree with this one. Their food (which is good), pricing (which is good) and their customer service (which is great) is why their customers are loyal. Their politics (which is, IMHO, not even close to great) is why I don't frequent them any more even though I enjoy their food.

The religion, political statements and conservative fodder aren't what keep the customers loyal. In fact, I doubt most customers at the super long drive-thru line at Westgate even know what Chick-Fil-A's politics are. They just like the food, pricing and customer service.

JMHO.

And that my friends is what this word jazz slam dance is all about.


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Saw this going up where Bob Evan's was. What a waste to destroy a perfectly good building just to put up another food joint. Seems like "destroy and rebuild" is our middle name in this country.

Was taken to a Cane's in Strongsville just yesterday for the first time. Have to admit the chicken was very good but healthy?? Hmmm. My lunch "box" consisted of 4 chicken fingers, Texas toast, pile of fries, cole slaw and the "special" sauce...(tasted like a mix of ketchup and ranch dressing)...(all for only $7.99)...and weighing in at around 1400 CALORIES (it's listed on the menu board). That is about twice what I usually eat for lunch.

Not sure how this fits into the "healthiest city in America" dream, but I would never lump a place that deep fries everything into that category, sorry!

cameron karslake wrote:Saw this going up where Bob Evan's was. What a waste to destroy a perfectly good building just to put up another food joint. Seems like "destroy and rebuild" is our middle name in this country.

Was taken to a Cane's in Strongsville just yesterday for the first time. Have to admit the chicken was very good but healthy?? Hmmm. My lunch "box" consisted of 4 chicken fingers, Texas toast, pile of fries, cole slaw and the "special" sauce...(tasted like a mix of ketchup and ranch dressing)...(all for only $7.99)...and weighing in at around 1400 CALORIES (it's listed on the menu board). That is about twice what I usually eat for lunch.

Not sure how this fits into the "healthiest city in America" dream, but I would never lump a place that deep fries everything into that category, sorry!

Summers and his administration cater to bars and fast food places.

Just where does that fit into their promise to be the “Healthiest City in America”

It’s just a joke.

The boy, a third year Buckeye who chows Canes down in Columbus, is a big fan, as are his housemates. Even makes his own version of the sauce. I can't eat this kind of food regularly anymore, but he's excited to have this when he comes home.