As Raising Cane’s Treads on His Tender Turf, a Chicago Restaurant Owner Clucks Back

As Chicago media fawns over national chicken chain news with announcements about a location at O’Hare International Airport and another at a prominent intersection in Lincoln Park near DePaul University, a local chain is clucking for some love via social media.

Earlier this week, Fry the Coop owner Joe Fontana, took to Instagram to show customers how an upcoming Raising Cane’s could harm his business at 2404 N. Lincoln Avenue, just down the street from the busy Halsted, Lincoln, and Fullerton intersection.

“No hate to Raising Cane’s, buuuut we wish they weren’t opening right across the street,” Fry The Coop’s Instagram post reads.

The post brought out legions of fans to praise local chicken shops like Parson’s Chicken & Fish and Red Light Chicken. They also lauded Fry the Coop’s heat levels as the chain specializes in Nashville hot chicken fried in beef tallow.

Three weeks ago, Raising Cane’s plastered its coming soon signs outside the former home of DePaul’s White Elephant. The thrift store closed in 2012 after 93 years of operation, and the new restaurant at 2376 N. Lincoln Avenue could open in February or March. Raising Cane’s arrived in Chicago with a Rogers Park location that opened in 2018.

Fontana founded Fry the Coop in 2017 when he opened in suburban Oak Lawn. He opened in Lincoln Park in October 2023, joining a number of affordable restaurants geared at students at DePaul and nearby Lincoln Park High School. That includes Ghareeb Narwaz and Chipotle. When Fontana hears stories about high school students with short lunch periods sprinting to Fry the Coop, coming into the restaurants out of breath and sweating, so they can grab lunch and make it back to class in time, he’s happy.

But he says “it’s a bummer” that he’ll lose chicken tender business to Raising Cane’s, a national chain that can afford to undercut Fry the Coop’s pricing. A three-piece tender with fries at Raising Cane’s costs about $11, depending on location. At Fry the Coop, a similar combo costs $15. That’s a big difference for students, Fontana says.

Though Fontana is a big fan of rising tides — he notes neighborhood additions, like Parson’s Chicken & Fish, bring more foot traffic and customers to the area — sometimes there’s only room for so many chicken tender slingers. Raising Cane’s is aggressive in opening stores near college campuses. The original debuted near Louisana State University and the Rogers Park location is near Loyola University. Building that brand awareness at a young age is critical, Fontana notes. It even extends to high school students, he adds. Some schools allow advertisements inside their buildings, which helps deep-pocketed companies, like Raising Cane’s — the same company that paid actor Chevy Chase to reenact his Christmas Vacation movie role in the suburbs. There are more than 800 Raising Cane stores across 41 states.

There are eight Fry the Coops around Chicago. A ninth is set to open on October 29 at 274 S. Weber Road in Bolingbrook, near the McDonald’s spin-off, CosMc’s. Fontana has plans to open more, but the Villa Park native knows that the opportunities aren’t as robust as the competition’s. For example, Chick-fil-A just opened a location at Terminal 5 at O’Hare.

“I don’t think we have anybody really pounding on our door,” Fontana says.