The two new proposed restaurants are planned in two of the city’s chain restaurant meccas, the St. Johns Town Center and River City Marketplace.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Already in progress with one location in Southwest Jacksonville and another planned for the Regency area, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, a rapidly expanding chain, is looking to add two more eateries in Northeast Florida.
These, though, are planned in two of the city’s chain restaurant meccas, the Town Center and River City Marketplace.
Based on the documents submitted to JEA on May 13, the favored chicken tender franchise aims to open a restaurant at 4863 Gate Parkway, taking over the previous Pollo Tropical spot at Markets at Town Center. This location is conveniently situated between another fried chicken competitor, Zaxby’s, and CVS pharmacy.
Plans show a 2,868-square-foot restaurant with a dual drive-thru.
Additional plans, also submitted on May 13, reveal a proposed 2,683-square-foot restaurant featuring a double drive-thru at 730 Skymarks Drive. This location, formerly a Pollo Tropical, is positioned within the expansive River City Marketplace on the city’s Northside, nestled between VyStar Credit Union and McDonald’s.
Miami-based Pollo Tropical closed the Town Center restaurant and locations at River City Marketplace and Mandarin in recent months, leaving Jacksonville to “focus on higher growth markets in Florida,” a company spokesperson said. Pollo Tropical made its Northeast Florida debut at the Town Center in 2010.
In the coming weeks, Raising Cane’s will make its area debut at 8308 Merchants Way, near Gator’s Dockside at the Epic Theaters-anchored Oakleaf Station in Southwest Jacksonville.
And in late January, a proposed Raising Cane’s was identified in plans filed with JEA at what is now an outparcel at Regency Square Mall, the 58-year-old shopping mall at 9501 Arlington Expressway that was sold earlier this year and will be redeveloped and renamed The Nexus at Regency.
Founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Raising Cane’s is known for its limited menu of fried chicken fingers and signature Cane’s sauce — a secret recipe known only to its managers. Its combo meals — available with two, three, four or six chicken fingers — come with crinkle-cut fries, Texas toast, and coleslaw. A chicken sandwich made with three chicken fingers is also available.
Raising Cane’s — which made its Florida debut in Miami’s South Beach area in early 2022 — has 20 locations in the Sunshine State, including Gainesville and Daytona Beach, the closest restaurants to Jacksonville, according to the company’s website. Other Raising Cane’s can be found in the Tallahassee, Tampa, Orlando and South Florida areas.
Editor’s note: This story was first published by our news partners, The Florida Times-Union.
