Raising Cane’s plots major California expansion — targeting wealthy suburbs

Rising fast food chain Raising Cane’s is continuing its rapid expansion into California, just months after opening its 1,000th restaurant in the heart of Hollywood.

The fried chicken chain — which was founded nearly 30 years ago on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge — is making a push into some more wealthier California enclaves.

Raising Cane’s confirmed to the North Bay Business Journal that they will be opening three new restaurants in the ritzy North Bay this year.

They also confirmed plans to build upwards of 40 new restaurants in California over the next few years, though the rest of those exact locations have yet to be confirmed.

One of the new North Bay restaurants will be located at the former location of Amy’s Drive Thru in Sonoma County’s Rohnert Park — a solidly middle class area.

A permit application viewed by the North Bay Business Journal confirmed the Raising Cane’s would take over the Amy’s Drive Thru location at 58 Golf Course Drive W.

Amy’s Drive Thru closed in March after 10 years in operation, with Raising Cane’s signing the lease for that 4,098-square-foot restaurant location later that month.

Sonoma Magazine also confirmed the Rohnert Park location was slated to open in September 2027.

Raising Canes will also be opening another location in the tony town of Napa, with a permit currently under review to take over a former KFC restaurant.

The 2,676-square-foot location is located within the South Napa Market Place shopping center, though there is no timeline set for when that may open.

The third North Bay Raising Cane’s will be in Vallejo, which is not a wealthy area, located within the housing and retail project dubbed Fairview at Northgate, a 51.3 acre project that will also include a new Costco.

There is no timeline slated for when that Raising Cane’s will open, though the Costco is scheduled to open sometime this fall.

The rapid expansion has paid off for Raising Cane’s, which surpassed Wingstop for third place in sales for fried chicken chains.

It took in $5.49 billion in 2025, surpassing Wingstop ($4.87 billion) and KFC ($4.68 billion), now behind just Popeye’s ($5.7 billion) and Chick-Fil-A ($23.9 billion).

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