OPENING DAY: 3 things to know about Raising Cane’s

CONTRIBUTED

CONTRIBUTED

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers opens its first Dayton-area location today at 1136 Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Washington Twp.

Raising Cane’s joins an increasingly competitive chicken-restaurant market, with most of the recent growth focused on Dayton’s south suburbs. Here’s what you need to know about Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers:

1. CONCEPT

The Raising Cane's chain prides itself on a limited menu and a simple concept, focused on chicken fingers, made "fresh, never frozen," marinated for 24 hours, then battered and cooked to order. Also featured on the menu are crinkle-cut fries, cole slaw, Texas Toast and sauces that are made in-house each day.

» RELATED: 8 places to grab some amazing fried chicken in Dayton

2. HISTORY

The first Raising Cane’s opened in 1996. “We were so busy, we stayed open ‘til 3:30 a.m. It was great to work with such a fun, dedicated crew,” wrote founder and CEO Todd Graves. Graves worked as a boilermaker and a commercial fisherman in Alaska before saving enough money to open his first restaurant in Baton Rouge, La. Now, Raising Cane’s has more than 320 restaurants in 23 states with multiple locations under construction.

» CHICKEN WARS: Dayton-area competition intensifies with new-restaurant openings

3. LOCAL PRESENCE

This is the first location near Dayton, but the chicken chain recently expanded in the Cincinnati area. Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers operates multiple restaurants in the Columbus and Cincinnati areas, and opened a restaurant in Fairfield in October 2016. Plans call for adding more Dayton-area locations, Morgan has said. Plans for a potential Beavercreek location are pending, according to city and restaurant officials.

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