An 8 a.m. Tuesday morning Chamber ribbon cutting ceremony will mark the opening of Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant at 1331 E. Hatch Road.

The Ceres eatery was constructed in the former parking lot of Kmart store.

The new restaurant will be Raising Cane’s first in Ceres and the second in the Stanislaus County. A restaurant opened last year at 3801 Pelandale Avenue in Modesto near Costco.

The Ceres store features an extended dining room concept with plenty of room for customers – the restaurant fondly calls them “Caniacs” – for lunch or a late-night bite. 

“We’re thrilled to bring Raising Cane’s to Ceres,” said Chris Esteban, area leader of restaurants. “With our commitment to not only provide quality chicken finger meals but also support our communities, we look forward to partnering with local organizations for our debut this fall, and to become a staple in the community beyond opening day.” 

In preparation for its grand opening, Raising Cane’s hired 125 new employees ranging from crew to management-level.

Raising Cane’s is located nationwide and was founded by Todd Graves in Louisiana in 1996. By 2022 the chain expanded to more than 600 restaurants in the United States and Middle East.

In October 2021Ceres city officials approved a development plan to turn the site of the former Kmart building on Hatch Road into a number of uses, which included the Raising Cane’s, a Dutch Bros Coffee Shop and a Quik Stop convenience store and gas station at the northeast corner of Hatch and Herndon. The Kmart building will be remodeled for a Public Storage self-storage facility.