Raising Cane's Raises Traffic Problems After Chicken Chain's Opening

MARLBOROUGH, MA — The new chicken restaurant Raising Cane's finally opened its Marlborough location Wednesday after years in the works — and a brief legal battle with Ronald McDonald.

And all that built up demand has resulted in perhaps some of the longest lines of any restaurant in Marlborough. Anyone who has driven by the 141 Boston Post Road restaurant has likely seen a line of cars stretching back as far as the I-495 ramps.

Marlborough police have been hired to direct traffic near the restaurant, and will remain there for at least the next few weeks, according to Sgt. Zachary Attaway.

"Raising Cane’s has been hiring several details during hours of operation thus far and plan to do so for the next couple of weeks. We will meet with the city and management to discuss further steps if we anticipate this being a traffic issue beyond the 'grand opening,'" Attaway said in an email Thursday.

Local resident Sean Mckain posted this video of the Route 20 line on the grand opening day:

"This is all for chicken," he says in the video showing cars lining the Boston Post Road.

It's not just the drive-thru that's backed up, Attaway said parking has become a problem in the plaza where Raising Cane's is located. The chicken restaurant is wedged between a hotel and a McDonald's and adjacent to the Hannaford supermarket.

Route 20 is two lanes near the restaurant, which has allayed some backups, Attaway said.

Louisiana-based Raising Cane's first applied to open the restaurant in May 2021. After the city granted the restaurant a permit in fall 2021, McDonald's sued, challenging a plan for the two fast-food rivals to share a driveway. The two restaurants settled the suit in March 2022.

Raising Cane's is a relatively novel fast food restaurant in the Northeast. The only other locations in the state are in Boston. A fourth New England location is planned for Johnston, Rhode Island. The chain specializes in chicken fingers, a subset of friend chicken that rivals like KFC, Buffalo Wild Wings and Chick-fil-A don't exclusively focus on.