𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 -- 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬

𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙅𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 110 𝙟𝙤𝙗𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙎𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨

LINDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, NJ (Aug. 17) — Chicken fingers were on the menu. Community was, too. Raising Cane’s opened in Linden Monday morning before an eager crowd of about 150, bringing 110 new jobs and a $1,000 donation to Linden Public Schools’ Fine and Performing Arts program.

Outside the restaurant’s bold red, yellow and black exterior at Aviation Plaza, music and chatter mixed in the morning air as cameras clicked and customers lined up early, eager to witness the 9:15 a.m. ribbon-cutting and be among the first through the doors.

A grand opening with a Linden connection

Amid the fanfare, the company put an immediate stamp on its new community connection: a $1,000 donation to Linden Public Schools’ Fine and Performing Arts program -- money that will help students take their talents on the road.

“Thank you for giving the students the opportunity to be able to spread joy and love,” Superintendent Dr. Atiya Y. Perkins said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. She said the support will help students travel to Atlantic City to perform before education leaders from across New Jersey and reflects a community partnership that reaches “far beyond 07036.”

The restaurant at 801 W. Edgar Road is Raising Cane’s ninth location in New Jersey and third in North Jersey, according to Kevin Gurdon, North New Jersey area leader of marketing for the Louisiana-based chicken-finger chain.

Dr. Perkins, Human Resources Director Dr. Kayla Lott and Board of Education member Lymari Cintron joined Mayor Derek Armstead, New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari and other city, county, business and community leaders for the ribbon-cutting.

Mayor Armstead welcomed the chain to a stretch of Routes 1 & 9 he playfully calls Linden’s “food court on the highway,” then connected the opening to something larger: the city’s continuing redevelopment and the jobs that come with it.

“We just don’t build and develop,” the mayor said. “We try to develop people as well.”

First in line — for the 14th time

And then there was Ryan Shupp.

The Coatesville, Pennsylvania, resident arrived at 6:45 a.m. — ahead of everyone else. He knew the drill. Linden was his 14th Raising Cane’s grand opening.

“I am obsessed with Raising Cane’s,” Shupp said, declaring himself the chain’s “number one fan.”

The company kept the opening-day energy going with music and giveaways, including a “Cane’s for a Year” drawing for 20 customers.

Community on the menu

Behind the spectacle, company leaders kept returning to one theme: community.

“Every restaurant is more than just a place to eat,” restaurant leader Gurdon told the crowd. “It’s an opportunity to make a positive impact in the community.”

They put money behind that promise on Day One.

Raising Cane’s presented $1,000 donations to both Linden Public Schools and the Boys & Girls Club of Union County. The district’s contribution will help Fine and Performing Arts students travel to Atlantic City to perform during the New Jersey School Boards Association conference.

Gurdon said the Linden opening is intended to be the beginning of a lasting relationship with the city, its schools and other local organizations.

“Our entire team is excited to become part of the Linden community and look forward to serving our new neighbors,” Gurdon said. “This opening is about more than just a new restaurant, it’s an opportunity to bring people together, create local jobs, and build lasting relationships with the community.”

More than a new restaurant

The restaurant’s 110 new jobs add another piece to the continuing transformation of the Routes 1 & 9 corridor. The new location features a double-lane drive-thru at Aviation Plaza, the sprawling retail center along W. Edgar Road.

Scutari, who represents the area, recalled when the corridor looked dramatically different and credited the city with turning it into a thriving commercial destination.

“We did the work to make this place a growing, thriving community where you can get food of all sorts,” Scutari said.

A partnership that starts with students

For Linden Public Schools, the opening was more than another ribbon-cutting. It marked the start of a relationship district and company leaders hope will grow well beyond opening day.

Perkins also thanked the company for creating another gathering place for Linden students, families and neighbors, underscoring the value of partnerships that open doors for students while strengthening connections across the community.

The Boys & Girls Club of Union County received an equal donation. CEO Joi Stanley, a Linden High School graduate, said the contribution will help support programming, including the organization’s STEM initiatives, as the club celebrates its 70th anniversary.

‘We belong here’

For Raising Cane’s leaders, the opening carried a distinctly local feel. Several described themselves as New Jersey natives, including Linden’s restaurant leader, who told the crowd he grew up only about 15 minutes away.

That connection, he said, made him confident about the restaurant’s future.

“Raising Cane’s and Linden, New Jersey, is a perfect partnership,” he said. “We belong here.”

Then came the ribbon.

The scissors closed. The crowd cheered. At 9:50 a.m., the doors finally opened, with Shupp officially the first customer through — greeted by a tunnel of cheering, pom-pom-waving Raising Cane’s employees.