Modesto’s Raising Cane’s sets opening date, as do two other area restaurants

December means openings when it comes to valley restaurants.

Three eateries will be opening, or in one case reopening, their doors to the public this month in Stanislaus County. The new openings include two well-known national chains — Raising Cane’s and Chipotle — opening their first locations in their respective Valley cities.

First, longtime locally owned restaurant Chefs of New York is reopening after about a two-month closure. The Italian eatery, which has been a Modesto favorite for more than 20 years, closed abruptly in early October. At the time, a sign was posted on its door saying “We will be re-opening soon! Thank you for your patience.”

Now, owner Vinny Altadonna said the restaurant will reopen in early December. The closure initially sparked worry the eatery was closing for good, following some recent high-profile closure announcements of longtime beloved Modesto businesses including Deva Cafe and Yesterday’s Books.

But, fear not, the restaurant is returning. The Italian eatery first opened in a small, 50-seat spot on Oakdale Road in 2001 (and was purchased from the original owner by Altadonna in 2006) and then expanded to add a downtown Modesto site in 2016. It then closed its original location and last year moved its downtown spot to its larger, current site on 13th Street.

Altadonna said that next week, the restaurant should reopen downtown, and he hopes it will be back up to its normal hours soon after. A recent Facebook post from the restaurant read in part, “The staff at Chefs of New York wanted to thank everyone for being patient during our closure. We are planning on reopening the first week of December with our normal business hours. ... We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!”

For more information on Chefs of New York’s reopening, visit www.facebook.com/chefsofnewyorkdowntown.

Next, the wait is almost over for anyone asking, “What exactly is a chicken finger?”

National fried chicken chain Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers has set the opening date for its first Modesto and Stanislaus County location. The restaurant on Pelandale Avenue will open Dec. 19.

The chain has gained a cult following — they call themselves “Caniacs” — thanks to its fried chicken fingers (what it calls its chicken tenders), signature sauce and Texas toast.

The new location was built from the ground up in the North Pointe Shopping Center, which includes Costco and Cost Plus World Market in northwest Modesto. The company tore down the former Pier 1 building to construct the stand-alone site with a double drive-thru. The location also has an open kitchen and large outdoor patio.

The company is in the process of hiring some 160 employees to fully staff the restaurant. Open positions are still posted and start at $15 an hour. For more information on jobs at the new restaurant, visit jobs.raisingcanes.com.

And finally, Ceres’s new Gateway retail center is starting to open up as another of its chain restaurants is ready for its debut. The from-the-ground-up development will bring a slew of new chain restaurants and other services to the corner of Mitchell and Service roads on the city’s southern edge.

The new Chipotle Mexican Grill opens Thursday, Dec. 1, in the Ceres Gateway Center. It joins the new Starbucks as the first restaurants to open in the new retail development across from the city’s Walmart Supercenter, which opened last November.

The Ceres Chipotle location is the first for the city, and will be open 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The new site also will be the first in the region to feature a “Chipotlane,” a drive-thru lane that lets customers pick up digital orders without entering the restaurant.

The restaurant is also still hiring to bring it up to full staff of about 25 employees. Interested candidates should visit chipotle.com/careers.

Starbucks and Chipotle will be joined by Ono Hawaiian BBQ, In-N-Out Burger and Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen which are still under construction.