Dive Brief:
- Raising Cane’s will open a global flagship in New York City’s Times Square on Tuesday, the company said Monday in a press release.
- This flagship location, the first in the Big Apple, is part of the company’s plan to open 25 restaurants in the New York metropolitan area during the next three years.
- Raising Cane’s, which has 740 units across 36 states, the Middle East and Guam, said its long-term goal is to become a top 10 U.S. brand.
Dive Insight:
Raising Cane’s is in the midst of a push to add 100 locations in 2023, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
The company bolstered employee benefits earlier this year to better attract restaurant leaders it needed to open its new stores. New benefits included $10,000 to be used toward closing costs for restaurant leaders or partners buying their first homes. The company, which owns all of its locations, also increased minimum pay for hourly managers to $18 per hour.
The Times Square unit, at Broadway and 44th Street, is more than 8,000 square feet and offers kiosk ordering. It also incorporates various design elements, including Cane’s mascot, Cane III, dressed as the Statue of Liberty.
Other decorative elements include replicas of the brand’s sauce, chicken fingers and toast as well as the company’s traditional disco ball decor, which is found in each restaurant. Raising Cane’s expects nearly 300,000 pedestrians to walk by the location each day, which could lead to high traffic if it captures even a small fraction of those potential customers.
The company has also boosted marketing efforts, partnering with musician Post Malone earlier this month. That partnership, which included Post Malone designing a Utah restaurant, led to a rollout of a limited edition Post Malone x Raising Cane’s collector cups.
