Lake County's first Raising Cane's opens in Gurnee

Lake County's first Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers location opened Tuesday morning in Gurnee at the strip mall anchored by Menard's at Grand Avenue just south of Gurnee Mills.

Though the franchise is new to town, an effort has been made to give the spot a local feel. Memorabilia, photographs and objects related to Gurnee and the surrounding area cover the walls, including patches from Gurnee's police and fire departments framed next to a fire alarm and a poster from the opening day of Gurnee Mills on Aug. 8, 1991. There are also framed pages from old Warren Township High School yearbooks.

Raising Cane's is a quick-service national chain known for serving chicken fingers, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw and Texas toast. The chain was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1996 and has more than 500 locations across the country.

The Gurnee location will be the first in Lake County and the 19th in the Chicago area for the chain. Two new suburban locations were established this year, one in Bloomingdale on April 27 and another in Arlington Heights on Oct. 5.

In November, the village board approved the restaurant chain's plan to purchase and demolish the old Boston Market restaurant and build the new 3,340-square-foot building at 6415 Grand Ave. with two drive-through lanes.