Food - Drink
Raising Cane's New Indiana Store Isn't Allowed To Sell Its Famous Menu Item
By LAUREN CAHN
Fast food chain Raising Cane’s has signed a 15-year lease worth roughly $2 million for a space in an Indiana shopping mall, only to discover that the space in question disallows the sale of Cane's most famous menu item. The chain's new location will not be allowed to sell its famous boneless chicken fingers — or any boneless chicken, period.
Raising Cane's is now suing the mall, Crossings of Hobart, and its owner, the Schottenstein Property Group. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants defrauded Raising Cane’s by failing to disclose the “restrictive covenant,” which bans the sale of boneless chicken inside the mall due to an agreement with a McDonald's location across the street.
The previous owners of the mall made a deal with said McDonald's that gave the store exclusive rights to sell boneless chicken in the surrounding area. Raising Cane's lawsuit alleges that the defendants knew the franchise mainly sold chicken fingers, but let eight months and millions of dollars of construction go by before informing the chicken chain.
The defendants deny fraud, claiming that the restaurant failed to conduct due diligence in a commercial lease transaction, which would have included a title search that revealed the property’s restrictions. If Raising Cane’s successfully pleads its case, the company will void the lease and be compensated for costs incurred and lost profits.