‘Best day of my life’: Fans line up along Eagle Road for Raising Cane’s opening
A chicken-finger joint in Meridian is probably the most popular breakfast place in the Treasure Valley. For today, at least.
In a foggy parking lot off busy Eagle Road early Tuesday morning, roughly 200 people stood, many wrapped in blankets and taking selfies, waiting for chicken. Kendrick Lamar blared through speakers, and some danced to stay awake or stay warm.
The grand opening of Idaho’s first Raising Cane’s in Meridian wasn’t quite the chaotic scene that In-N-Out devotees may remember from the California burger chain’s 2023 debut. But Cane’s fans — called “Caniacs” — are no less die-hard. The new restaurant’s first customers, two Middleton sisters, arrived at the parking lot at 3 a.m. — Monday.
“I feel like I’ve accomplished something in life,” said Chloeigh Masi-Kraemer, a 16-year-old who earned the honor of first customer after learning about the planned Raising Cane’s roughly a year ago. Masi-Kraemer told the Idaho Statesman that she first tried Cane’s in Las Vegas and has been “obsessed” with it since.
She and her sister, 21-year-old Rorie Masi, had their first bite of hot chicken after being invited to the restaurant’s “friends and family” meal Monday. The pair also received a basket of Cane’s swag.
Twenty customers who waited in the chilly raffle line Tuesday morning lucked out with free Cane’s for a year.
The chicken-finger chain, known for its signature Cane’s sauce, opened its first restaurant in Louisiana in 1996 and has since grown to over 900 restaurants, according to Jason Zwerin, the vice president of restaurants for Raising Cane’s.
Zwerin said the Meridian restaurant is one of seven opening today nationwide and that the company has plans to open three more Idaho restaurants in 2026. The planned restaurants are in Chubbuck, Twin Falls and Coeur d’Alene. For the time being, he said, Meridian will remain the Treasure Valley’s only Cane’s.
Cane’s hired roughly 170 employees for the new restaurant, Zwerin said.
A Caniac is born
Many of the early risers Tuesday became hooked on the fast-food joint from prior experiences out of state, especially in California. But most fans at the opening were local, with some never having tried Cane’s before.
Jaydee Hanson, a 24-year-old from Nampa, said he doesn’t often get out of Idaho, so he likes to attend grand opening events when big chains come to him. Hanson had never tried Cane’s but learned about it on YouTube.
“People have been raving about this for so long that I just wanted to see if it was really the rave that it’s supposed to be,” said Hanson, who had been in line since 4 p.m. Monday. “It is everything and more.”
Hanson, who ordered a Caniac Combo of chicken fingers and sauce, fries and Texas Toast, said he’ll “probably … never go to another chicken place again.”
“This is officially the best day of my life,” he said.
Cane’s plan to keep traffic under control
Not all the anticipation for the restaurant, located at 2700 N. Eagle Road south of Trader Joe’s, has been positive.
A year ago, a neighboring business owner appealed to the Meridian City Council over concerns that cars from the restaurant’s drive-thru would back up onto a narrow access road that serves several businesses and almost 700 apartment units and would cause safety issues.
The City Council ultimately approved the drive-thru on the condition that the restaurant make a traffic mitigation plan for high-volume events like the grand opening.
That plan involved contracting with Boise-based MAV Event Services for traffic control and using a gravel parking lot across from the restaurant to queue cars. According to Zwerin, the Cane’s executive, the drive-thru and parking lot together could hold up to 250 cars.
“Our No. 1 priority here is to really make sure that we create a safe environment for everybody, but also one that’s, you know, fast and efficient,” said Zwerin. “We have lots of nice signage and people out there assisting on where to go and how to get through our lines as quickly as possible.”
Lt. Brandon Frasier of the Meridian Police Department told the Statesman by phone that police worked with Raising Cane’s to develop the mitigation plan. The Police Department wasn’t concerned with increased traffic on Eagle Road, he said, because that road is already “bumper to bumper.”
“There’s only so much of a snarl that it can cause realistically,” Frasier said. “Infrastructure on Eagle Road is kind of built for that, and we haven’t seen — and we don’t expect — any serious traffic congestion or backups.”
As for the narrow access road, Frasier said, the road is private property. Frasier said police would respond to any emergencies on the road, but congestion would have to be resolved by the restaurant and property owner.
The road appeared clear Tuesday, and the parking lot, which will eventually be home to a 120-room Wyndham Hotel, was not full.
This story was originally published November 18, 2025 at 12:16 PM.
