Raising Cane’s recently stated they have identified another local town to add to it’s growing South Jersey Chicken Finger empire, with plans for a Lawnside location to start development in the Fall of 2024.
This Lawnside project has not been presented to the Lawnside Planning Board as of yet.
The confirmation of a future Lawnside location was provided to Patch.com about 2 weeks ago, as part of an update from Raising Cane’s on store openings for other upcoming area locations.
At this time no one is 100% certain of the location for the new Lawnside Raising Cane’s, but I have a very strong idea… strong enough that I will share here at 42Freeway.com!
Raising Cane’s is a popular chicken finger restaurant with a cult-like following in other parts of the country. They are making a huge push into South Jersey with the construction of locations underway in Burlington, Marlton, Cherry Hill and Deptford… and with planned locations targeted for Glassboro, Washington Township and now… Lawnside.
Of course I will tell you I’ve known about the plans for Lawnside for most of the year! But I just felt I needed additional confirmation to tie this all together.
Well, when the Company comes right and out and says “… and next fall (construction starts) in Lawnside”, that’s a very solid confirmation, at least in knowing the town!
I’ll add that back in January of 2023 the meeting minutes for a Lawnside Workshop Meeting lists 5 projects in play for the borough, and Raising Cane’s is listed. At the time I reached out to the borough for comment, but did not receive a response.
Secondly, a loyal reader of 42Freeway reached out to me over the summer and asked “Hey, did you hear about Raising Cane’s coming to Lawnside?”. The reader has some involvement in the area commercial development space and not only volunteered the town to me… they pinpointed the location.
Which lead me to the old closed gas station which sits in front of the Home Depot on the White Horse Pike.
The White Horse Pike property sits directly on the busy roadway, has access into the extended Home Depot Shopping Center… and the gas station is non-operational.
A perfect location for development of a Raising Cane’s Chicken Finger restaurant.
In December of 2022 the gas station property was sold to the development arm of South Jersey’s Metro Commercial, which is a major player in South Jersey retail development.
So we know that a Raising Cane’s is planned for Lawnside, and I have good evidence of the location… but there is still some chance that my information doesn’t connect for the gas station property, but I feel it’s very solid.
For the other upcoming South Jersey locations I have a contact now with a regional manager who tells me Burlington is actually scheduled to open on January 17th. This would be the first Raising Cane’s to open in South Jersey.
The Patch article had a slightly different date for Burlington, but then goes on to say that Marlton is expected to open the end of January, Cherry Hill is February, and Deptford would open in March.
The proposed Glassboro location has not been approved yet, and was set for planning board review back in October. That meeting was postponed, and I see now that it was rescheduled for January 2024.
I am working on an update for Washington Township, which was already approved by the Township.
This area of the White Horse Pike has seen significant commercial development attention in recent years, but most of it has been one town over in Barrington.
A Chick-Fil-A opened in 2021. Chipotle is approved next to Chick-Fil-A at the site of the former Time Out bar. A Chuck Lager’s restaurant opened a few years ago across the street (originally Wild Wing Cafe) and a Super Wawa opened a year or two prior to that.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
If you aren’t familiar, Raising Cane’s is a chicken finger restaurant with a cult-like following in other parts of the country. They are to chicken fingers, what In-And-Out is to burgers!
Fans really love their chicken fingers and Cane’s Sauce… calling themselves “Caniacs”!
If you’re unfamiliar with Raising Cane’s, they really have a simple menu. They focus on a few things and they try to excel in that space
As an example when folks say that they are another chicken restaurant, it’s actually more focused than that as their only main product is store made, battered and fried chicken fingers!
Now they do offer a variety of things to go along with that of course, such as store-cut french fries.
They also have signature Raising Cane’s items including their Cane’s Sauce, which people are crazy about!
They are so confident you will love the taste of Cane’s Sauce, they have no other sauce choices in the restaurant… No BBQ, no honey mustard. Only Cane’s Sauce!
“Cane’s” also has Texas toast which is lightly buttered and garlic toasted bread, and a tasty coleslaw.
You can order a Box Combo meal that literally includes the entire menu in one meal!
I’ve now had Raising Cane’s Chicken a few times in Philadelphia, in University City and at Pennrose Ave (near the airport).
The chicken fingers really are delicious and tender, without a greasy “feeling”. I like the Cane’s sauce also, which has a mild tanginess to it.
The dining areas of the restaurant are bright and whimsical, and even feature disco balls to fill the space with shimmering lights!
Heading out of 2023 not many folks in South Jersey have experienced Raising Cane’s but I bet by the time 2024 heads out in a year… we will all have become “Caniacs!”
Links and Location
Raising Cane’s Lawnside – Planned
White Horse Pike
Lawnside NJ
Raising Cane’s Website