SOUTH JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) – In case you haven’t heard – and judging by the long lines, it’s unlikely – Raising Cane’s opened its first location in Utah last Tuesday .
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The place, located in southern Jordan, has already been a hit with residents who crave duck chicken fingers, Texas toast and wavy fries. A video on TikTok shows a line of cars hoping to pass through the drive-thru seemingly stretching forever.
Chris Vines, who works as the Utah-area chef for Raising Cane’s, told ABC4 that the restaurant chain has taken extraordinary steps to make the run as painless as possible. While she agrees that the queue behind the wheel can be quite long, the best way to grab a basket of chicken fingers is to park the car and enter the building.
“We hired security guards and they really helped because we don’t want to be a nuisance to the neighborhood or other local businesses. We’ve added another week to that just to make sure we’re doing our part to make sure everyone is good with each other and trying to get to restaurants much faster. I think a lot of people get discouraged when they see the drive-thru line, but to get in it’s much faster, ”she explains.
Speaking to ABC4 around 11:15 am Wednesday morning, Evans noted that there was no queue inside the restaurant and an order could be filled in about five minutes. She added that the lunch rush usually results in a 15-20 minute wait for customers.
Although Cane’s has a mobile ordering feature on its app and website, Evans recommends that people do not order this way unless they are confident in their ability to maneuver properly on a mobile device. If the location is not enabled or the correct timeslot is not selected, problems with reading food can quickly arise, even though the customer has already paid for their food.
In short, Evans says the best way to get a taste of Cane is to bypass the drive-thru line – there’s a separate entrance with guidance from the security team – park the car and enter at inside.
While Cane’s national office, located in Baton Rouge, is thrilled with the response the Utahns have given to his new location, Evans says it was somewhat expected. What they weren’t expecting, however, was demand for a particular menu item.
“This is something that is probably unique to Utah, I can’t confirm it by any means, but I would be very surprised if we didn’t sell more lemonade as a business this week here than in other restaurants, ”Evans said. “We process 25 cases of lemons per day. “
The other popular drink on the menu, sweet tea, didn’t sell as well, but that was to be expected thanks to the population of Utah which is made up of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Saints. Last Days that do not drink tea.
So far, Evans says Raising Cane’s future in Utah looks bright. Additional locations are underway, and the company plans to hire hundreds of additional employees over the next few months. Cane’s launched its footprint in Utah with a festive celebration in southern Jordan and she adds that the same can be expected at future Utah restaurants.
“We did a lot of big openings before COVID and then when COVID happened we kept opening, but during those openings we didn’t do any of the festivities like the ribbon cuts, this is the first since COVID has hit, “says Evans.” So this has been exciting for the company. We are also excited because we have Provo which will open in August and we have one in West Valley which will open in October. We are really excited to ‘to have people so enthusiastic about Cane’s.