ROSCOE VILLAGE — Plans for a Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant on the border of Roscoe Village and Avondale has some neighbors — and now their alderman — scoffing instead of licking their fingers.
The Louisiana-based fast-food chain hopes to take over a vacant lot at 2401-2409 W. Belmont Ave., the southwest corner of Belmont and Western avenues, according to a company presentation at a 47th Ward community meeting last month.
Raising Cane’s would construct a restaurant building as well as a drive-thru operation with 7,600 square feet of interior landscaping. There would be a 14-space parking lot, elevated crosswalks and a bike station, all centered around a lengthy double-lane drive-thru, peeling hungry drivers away from the roads and into lines, company officials said at the meeting.
Those plans are not sitting well with some neighbors, who are particularly not pleased with the drive-thru configuration.
A petition by neighbors has collected almost 300 signatures in opposition to the project, said organizer Sarah Wirth. The petition cites traffic snarls as a main concern against the chicken finger mecca, which would “further exacerbate our already very congested conditions.”
“The local aesthetic, impact on the environment, health of local residents, and even the added noise pollution are all of concern to those of us that will have this in our backyards day in and day out,” the petition reads. “Culture matters. Health matters. A Raising Cane’s drive thru contributes only to the detriment in all categories.”
Ald. Matt Martin (47th) has joined neighbors in opposing the restaurant plan as constructed, with his office saying the plan creates safety concerns.
“A drive-thru at this location would be hazardous to pedestrians, cause traffic to back up at an already busy and complex five-way intersection, impede the functioning of the Western bus,” the alderman said in a statement. “The proposed drive-through at this transit-served and bikeable intersection would do nothing to fulfill the goals identified by our community … .”
The double drive-thru lane requires a special-use permit from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals. The zoning board acts independently of the City Council but often takes into account the opinion of the local alderperson.
Cane’s did not return requests for comment, but it sent representatives to the December Zoom meeting to lay out its mockups, take feedback from neighbors and highlight the chain’s charitable work at local schools, animal shelters and food banks.
“This plan is still being massaged,” a Cane’s spokesperson said at the December meeting. “We want to make sure we’re serving the community in the best way possible.”
Drivers would enter and exit the Raising Cane’s on Western Avenue at one access point just slightly south of a major five-way intersection where Western meets Clybourn and Belmont avenues, according to the proposal.
The Cane’s would join fast-food chains surrounding Lane Tech College Prep High School and DePaul College Prep, with the businesses already flooding the neighborhood with students during lunch hours and after school, according to the petition.
Neighbor Amir Kapadia said at the December meeting he did not want the Raising Cane’s, which would “back up” into his garage and alleyway — drawing heavy traffic, confusion and maybe even crime.
“What you’ve created here is essentially a minefield, a significant amount of places for people to hide and potentially break into people’s homes,” Kapadia said. “This is not a good fit, when you look at the neighborhood and the families in the area.”
A “coalition” of neighbors plans to speak out against the Raising Cane’s at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, which has not yet been scheduled, Wirth said.
The rapidly expanding chain has three restaurants in Chicago and dozens more in the suburbs, including a flagship store on Michigan Avenue that opened early last year to a zealous welcome: lines wrapping around the building for a chance at chicken fingers.
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