Raising Canes crew chants as they get ready for the grand opening of the location located off of Grand River on Oct. 14, 2022.
Michigan’s first Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is set to open on Grand River Avenue tomorrow, and the grand opening includes multiple draws for the community.
Twenty customers will be selected to receive free Cane’s for a year at the early morning event. Submissions for the drawing will be accepted from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The winners will be announced at 9 a.m.
The restaurant, located at 301 Grand River Ave., off the corner of M.A.C. Avenue, will serve customers from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m., Sunday to Wednesday, and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon and a number of East Lansing City Council and Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce members will partake in a ribbon cutting at 9 a.m.
Raising Cane’s will be presenting a $1,000 to Michigan State University Athletics, received by MSU’s cheerleaders and dance team in attendance.
The first Michigan location has hired 140 crew members which were trained across three days last week by their new restaurant opening team. According to Jen Szewcs, Raising Cane's regional leader of restaurants, the training focused a lot on the culture of the chain.
”We talk a lot to the team about making history here and this restaurant is going to do that,” Szewcs said. “We want (crew members) to work hard, and have fun, we have a culture of appreciation at Cane’s, it's actually a really cool crew culture.”
Szewcs said the location has garnered great attention from the community thus far. With the location right across the MSU, they expect success with the student population.
At previous college town openings they have seen lines of customers lining up on opening day, and they anticipate a similar response in East Lansing.
“The Chamber (of Commerce) has been fantastic,” Szewcs said. “The campus, being right across from the Student Union, has been nothing short of spectacular.”
Before Raising Cane's made the decision to open in East Lansing, there was debate surrounding whether it should be here or in Ann Arbor – home of the University of Michigan.
Szewcs said the decision came down to where would make the best home for the brand.
“Our heart is here. That's why we chose it and the love for the brand has been just synonymous with all things East Lansing, and Michigan State in general,” Szewcs said. “So we couldn't be more excited to be here.”
Raising Cane’s Chicken has nearly 700 locations nationwide, including locations off Ohio State University, Indiana University and the University of Illinois.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
