DePaul students will no longer have to travel off-campus for a Box Combo. Raising Cane’s is opening at 2376 N. Lincoln Ave., across from DePaul’s School of Music. Doors are set to open on Jan. 28, 2025, according to Kevin Ryan, the Regional Leader of Restaurants for Raising Cane’s.
“The whole community in Lincoln Park is exactly what we are looking for,” Ryan said. “We love being by colleges and schools.”
Students are looking forward to having another meal option near the Lincoln Park campus. Kissiany Melecio, a DePaul freshman and music education student, is among those who are ready for the new Raising Cane’s location to begin operations.
“Every time we have breaks in rehearsal, I just look across (the street) and see the chicken imagery, and I get really hungry,” Melecio said.
Ume Hashimoto-Jorgensen, a DePaul freshman, also said she is “really excited” for Raising Cane’s to open.
Hashimoto-Jorgensen recalled a time she and Melecio took a walk, both wishing for more Raising Cane’s locations in Chicago. She said that 10 minutes later they passed by the new location, where they saw a sign on the door that read Raising Cane’s would be “opening soon.”
“We both screamed,” Hashimoto-Jorgensen said.
Raising Cane’s will join a list of chicken spots near DePaul, including Red Light Chicken, Fry the Coop and Byrd’s Hot Chicken. It is unclear how drastically the new location will impact nearby restaurants. Hashimoto-Jorgensen thinks that Cane’s is not cheap enough for students to buy consistently.
“I think the other restaurants will still be fine,” Hashimoto-Jorgensen said.
However, Joe Fontana, the owner of Fry the Coop, took to Instagram on Oct. 20 to express his discontent.
“Who are you going to support? A Louisiana brand or your hometown crew in Chicago?” said Fontana in an Instagram reel.
The new Lincoln Park Cane’s will be the fourth in Chicago. Some DePaul students go to different neighborhoods just to order Cane’s.
“I’ve taken the train to Wrigleyville two times for Cane’s,” Melecio said.
Others simply don’t order at all. “I just think about it a lot,” Hashimoto-Jorgensen said.
The other two locations are in downtown Chicago and at Loyola University. Alexa Velasquez, a Loyola sophomore, likes having a Raising Cane’s on campus.
“I think the biggest benefit is how accessible it is,” Velasquez said. Raising Cane’s at Loyola closes at 1 a.m., something Velasquez said is convenient when other restaurants are already closed.
Velasquez also enjoys how Cane’s at Loyola is decorated with Loyola signs. She said that it gives the restaurant an “inclusive feeling.”
“The Cane’s at Loyola has definitely become a staple to all the students here,” Velasquez said.
Ryan said students can look forward to seeing DePaul decorations, along with other graphics of the community, in the new Lincoln Park Cane’s.
“The marketing team will absolutely start engaging conversations with DePaul, seeing what we can do to engage with the students and really become a part of the school,” said Ryan.
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