5 things to know about Delaware's first Raising Cane's

Raising Cane's is bringing its handmade chicken tenders and tangy Cane's sauce to Newark starting next week.

The restaurant is scheduled to open Tuesday at 10 a.m. It's in the southwest corner of The Grove at Newark near Wyoming Road and Library Avenue. It promises to be one of the top draws in The Grove, formerly College Square shopping center.

One of more than 100 planned restaurant openings for the Louisiana-based chain in 2023, the Newark location is the first Raising Cane's in Delaware. Area leader of restaurants Jim Carty detailed what to expect as on-site training began Thursday.

Raising Cane's 'One Love' menu

The phrase "One Love" is planted all over the new restaurant. It ties in with Raising Cane's limited menu. Their one love is chicken fingers and, as Carty puts it, "we try to do it well and better than everyone else."

The kitchen makes five items: chicken fingers, coleslaw, toast, fries and sauce. The menu features five combo meals served with slaw, Texas toast and crinkle-cut fries, ranging from a three-finger meal ($9.79) to a six-piece "Caniac" combo ($16.35). There's also a two-finger kids meal ($6.49) and a sandwich combo ($9.99). The sandwich is three fingers with lettuce on a toasted bun.

Everything is made fresh in-house. The chicken comes in raw and is marinated for 24 hours, Carty said. He said they aim to serve guests in two and a half to three minutes.

The company won't divulge the recipe to its Cane's sauce, but internet sleuths have gotten close, Carty said. It appears to be some combination of mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and ketchup.

The Newark location

The Grove at Newark currently presents a bit of a construction maze with several components of the mixed-use center still in development. Raising Cane's is to the right if accessed from Library Avenue between WSFS and a gray building under construction that will host Starbucks and First Watch.

Raising Cane's has two full-service drive-thru lanes. The drive-thru typically draws 50%-60% of customers, Carty said. Plenty of parking is available next to the building and toward the former Kmart.

There is a covered patio with string lights and a few tables with umbrellas. A garage door opens to connect the patio to the inside dining room.

Inside, decorations that are decidedly Delaware accompany signs that explain the back story of Raising Cane's. There's an Aetna firefighter helmet, a 1988 Krawen (the Newark High School yearbook), framed tickets to seven 1978 University of Delaware football games and a map of White Clay Creek, among other swag. A few items are found in every Cane's, including disco balls (one filled a skylight in the first Raising Cane's), a painting of Elvis Presley and a red Raising Cane's mural on exposed brick.

Guests can peer into the open kitchen to see food being prepared.

Over the past two months, Raising Cane's has hired 118 employees for the Newark location. Between eight and 24 employees work each of the restaurant's three daily shifts. Trainers from throughout the region were guiding teams through the restaurant Thursday and will remain on-site through the first two to three weeks of business.

Raising Cane's expansion

Raising Cane's entry to the Mid-Atlantic has been swift.

In the last year, the company opened two locations in Philadelphia and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in addition to their first Maryland restaurant in Towson. They have announced plans for four South Jersey sites in Deptford, Cherry Hill, Marlton and Burlington.

Carty said Raising Cane's plans to continue to fill in the region from Pennsylvania to one of its first East Coast stores in Sterling, Virginia. There aren't any other confirmed locations in Delaware.

The company has focused much of its expansion around college towns. The Philadelphia locations are near Temple and the University of Pennsylvania. Raising Cane's is on or near the campuses of Hampton, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth and the University of Virginia.

"It's not just about the fast food and convenience; they can hang out," Carty said.

The symbol of Raising Cane's rapid expansion might be its forthcoming Times Square location. It's expected to open this spring, according to media reports, in a former Walgreens.

There are about 700 locations nationwide. They are all company owned.

When is Raising Cane's in Newark open?

Raising Cane's will be open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The grand opening is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18. First-day customers will be entered into a "Lucky 20 drawing" for a chance to win free Cane’s for a year. The first 100 customers will receive a free T-shirt. On Monday, Raising Cane's will have a soft opening for V.I.C.s, very important caniacs.

What else is coming to The Grove at Newark?

Approved by the city of Newark in 2019, developer Fusco Management of New Castle pitched The Grove as an active lifestyle center designed with walkability and modern amenities in mind. It repurposes parts of the former College Square shopping center while introducing dozens of green median spaces, luxury apartments and several pad sites.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: Raising Cane's, First Watch and everything else coming to The Grove at Newark

• Del Pez, a Mexican gastropub, will be built around a green space in the center of the development.

• At least two other restaurants will be built near Del Pez, a Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant and a Mexican fast-casual restaurant.

• A standalone building under construction next to Raising Cane's will have the brunch restaurant First Watch and Starbucks.

• NovaCare Rehabilitation is under construction next to Jersey Mike's in the strip center at the north end of The Grove.

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Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Raising Cane's opens first Delaware location in Newark on April 18