Raising Cane’s Operations Advisor Derrick Dunne, Operations Advisor Ian Herrera, Chief Deputy for St. Bernard Parish Richard Baumy, State Rep Ray Garofalo, Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graves Jr., General Manager David Odom, Chamber of Commerce Director Stephen Reuther, Chamber Chairwoman Jodie Lohfink, Jerry Calgano, Claudette Reuther, Eric Schmidt, Councilman Casey Hunnicutt, Councilman Ritchie Lewis, Councilman Nathan Gorbaty, St. Bernard Tax Assessor Jaylynn Bergeron Turner, Tourism Director Gidget MacDougall

The first customers served were Carol Bodden and her granddaughters Laine Francingues and Fate Nunez, who started waiting at 8 a.m.

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A line of excited customers wrapped around the front of the brand new Raising Cane’s restaurant on July 13 to take part in the Grand Opening Ceremony– which turned out to be the biggest in the national chain restaurant’s history.

Carol Bodden and her granddaughters Laine Francingues and Fate Nunez were the first customers in line and started camping out at 8 a.m. for Cane’s signature chicken fingers and lemonade.

Velma Forutunia, who normally drives to Metairie or Slidell to get her Cane’s fix every week, was elated that one of her favorite restaurants was opening in St. Bernard Parish.

“They have the most friendly service– I’ve never been to a Cane’s and got bad service,” Forutunia said with her Cane’s Preferred Customer card in-hand.

General Manager David Odom said that the crew has had an outpouring of support from residents so far.

In addition to bringing friendly service to the community, the new restaurant is bringing 55 new jobs to St. Bernard Parish. Hiring began six weeks ago, and to cap off their few weeks of training, the new employees received a “Pump Up” session before the restaurant served its first customers.

One other interesting aspect about the new restaurant is its nickname. According to Odom, every new Raising Cane’s restaurant gets a nickname unique to it’s location. The name chosen for the new Chalmette store was “Battlefield” — an homage to Chalmette Battlefield, which was a crucial victory for Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans.

The new restaurant is more than just another place to get lunch, said Operations Advisor Derrick Dunne, it’s a new opportunity for a business to contribute to the growth and rebuilding of the parish. Dunne explained that the Raising Cane’s organization was incredibly excited to bring their 129th store to St. Bernard Parish, and is dedicated to contributing to the parish’s growth in a long-term way.

“This is about helping the community and bringing economic growth and development to the community,” said Dunne. “We’ve been chomping at the bit to be here and people have been chomping at the bit for us to open– and we vow to be a part of this community in each and every way possible.”

Raising Cane’s is open Sunday to Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to midnight. The new store is located at 8113 W. Judge Perez Dr. in Chalmette.