There was an insane 2+ hour wait for chicken fingers at Raising Cane's grand opening in Boynton

BOYNTON BEACH — Some camped out Monday at 2 a.m. for Tuesday's 10 a.m. grand opening.

Others endured a maddening three-hour wait in the drive-thru lanes that snaked out onto Boynton Beach Boulevard for at least a half-mile, weaving through police cars directing all the mayhem, inching along as if a hurricane was on the way and it was the only open gas station in Palm Beach County.

And others got lucky — they only stood and waited about 90 minutes in line on a nice Florida evening, chatting with people from multiple counties that had endured a similar hardship ... all in the name of fried chicken fingers.

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers fast-food restaurant held its grand opening in Boynton Beach, and as Regional Vice President Jeremy Sheffield observed in amazement from the overflowing parking lot, "Palm Beach showed up."

"I knew it would be busy, but no I didn't expect this at all," Sheffield said. "It just shows that people want their chicken."

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But fried chicken? At an order-at-the-counter / drive-thru fast-food restaurant spot? And no, the food wasn't free.

For many, it was as simple as supply and demand along with word of mouth (and cell phone) that rapidly spread through the social media blitz on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

For Stacy Suffrin and Sandy Mercado, both 19 and from Greenacres, the build up of the new Boynton spot on social media was like a Taylor Swift concert so they had to get a taste — literally — of the hype.

The two teens got in the drive-thru line around 6 p.m., but frustrated the line was barely moving along Boynton Beach Boulevard, decided to park across the street in the Bedding Barn parking lot and try their luck on foot.

"We still waited about two hours," Suffrin said. "We just weren't moving in our car so we tried another route. I knew it would take a long time, but I honestly didn't think it would take this long."

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Suffrin and Mercado knew about the popularity of the spot from its success in Miami-Dade County's two locations, but for them, the intrigue, thanks to social media, is ultimately what drew their curiosity.

"I have always wanted to try it," Suffrin said. "And when I saw that they opened a spot in Boynton, I had to check it out."

Raising Cane's initial business plan wasn't well received

Raising Cane's was founded in 1996 by Todd Graves, who created a business plan for the restaurant while in college at Louisiana State University. Graves recruited his friend Craig Silvey to help with the concept, but according to the company's online history, the two submitted the proposal as part of a business course at LSU and got a C-minus from the professor who said a "chicken fingers restaurant would never work."

Determined to make it work, Graves earned his restaurant deposit after saving money while working as a boilermaker in a Louisiana refinery. The first store was opened in Baton Rouge, La., near the LSU campus.

Since then, business has been booming as the company claims the title of the "fastest growing chicken chain" and recently opened its 600th location.

As for the menu, it's pretty simple.

Known for its breaded and fried chicken finger meals with its famous Cane's Sauce, the signature entrée is the Box Combo, according to Sheffield. In it are four tenders with the sauce, cole slaw, crinkle-cut fries, griddled Texas toast and a drink (with lemonade a favorite flavor).

In Florida, there are only eight locations with one in Homestead and another in South Beach. The popularity of it, along with market research, is what brought the restaurant to Boynton Beach.

"We saw the growth in Palm Beach County," Sheffield said. "And this food is so popular everywhere. There are a lot of transplants here and we knew it would be big."

Still, the location selection on a former Wells Fargo branch at 1550 Boynton Beach Boulevard was a curious one — adjacent to Chick-fil-A, which made a name for itself selling chicken sandwiches.

"It's really two different brands," Sheffield said. "They are chicken sandwiches and we are fried chicken fingers. Totally different."

A big reason for the popularity, customers in line said, was the quality of the food. Raising Cane's uses only chicken breast tenderloins, which is the premium cut, and they are never frozen. Instead, the meat is cooked to order.

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Sheffield said when the store opened at 10 a.m., there were 85 people waiting in line already. Relentless crowds kept pouring in all day and he was happy he made the decision to hire Boynton police officers to direct traffic on the busy thoroughfare.

"Honestly, it never let up," he marveled. "It's been like this all day and night."

Elliot Betancourt, 29, was one of the lucky ones. Coming from West Palm Beach, he met two friends from Boca Raton there around 7:20 p.m. and an hour later, they had their food.

Like many who decided to walk in rather than endure the lengthy wait of the three-lane drive thru, he saved about 90 minutes.

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"I had heard about the opening and as soon as I got here saw the parking lot and drive-thru and it was insane," he said. "I had never had (the food) and wanted to try it. It was awesome."

Betancourt said he'd definitely come back, but will wait for the opening of the next spot at State Road 7 and Southern Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach on the site of a former Applebee's. That one opens May 23 (also near a Chick fil-a) and lines will likely be equally insane.

But was it worth the wait?

Said Suffrin: "The food is really good, but I would I wait two hours again for it? Probably not."

James Coleman is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network-Florida. You can reach him at jcoleman@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers restaurant in Boynton Beach, Florida