Raising Cane's Fast Food Chain Plans Marlborough Location

MARLBOROUGH, MA — A rare fast-food restaurant may soon open in Marlborough.

The Louisiana-based Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers chain has applied to open a new restaurant along the Boston Post Road — and it would only be the chain's second location between Maine and Maryland.

According to a May 11 application for a special permit, the Raising Cane's restaurant would be located at 141 Boston Post Road West, which is across the street from the Apex Entertainment plaza. The restaurant would be about 3,300 square-feet, and would feature two drive-thru lanes. The restaurant would employ about 12 people, according to the application.

As you might be able to guess, Cane's specializes in chicken finger-based meals almost exclusively.

"The restaurant's concept is focused on its One Love, the chicken finger meal," the applications says. "That's all Raising Cane's serves ... boxes of chicken fingers, served with crinkle cut fries, coleslaw, Texas toast, and homemade Cane's sauce."

Raising Cane's has one location in Boston, but you would have to drive as far west as Youngstown, Ohio, or south to Charlottesville, Va., to find another one.

The Marlborough Zoning Board has already signed off on some approvals needed for the restaurant, including a reduced number of parking spots. The City Council will have to approve the application for a double drive-thru lane.

So far, only one neighbor of the proposed Raising Cane's has expressed opposition to the drive-thru: the next-door McDonald's emailed city officials last week expressing concern that the shared driveway could become a safety hazard.

Raising Cane's was founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., and has since expanded to more than 500 locations in the U.S. and a few overseas.