Brandon’s swapping marinara for Cane’s sauce. The former Macaroni Grill at Brandon Town Center is set to be torn down and reborn as a Raising Cane’s, with a drive-thru-centric layout tailored for serious chicken-finger traffic.
What’s planned for the site
The building at 132 Brandon Town Center Drive will be demolished and replaced with a new Raising Cane’s that includes a drive-thru, updated landscaping, parking upgrades and fresh signage, according to Tampa Bay Business & Wealth. That report notes that asbestos abatement is scheduled for mid-July, with demolition expected to start Aug. 3 and wrap up by Aug. 21, based on Hillsborough County records. Kimley-Horn is listed as the project engineer and PM Design Group as the architect on the filing.
Site details
Public property listings show the parcel covers about 2.5 acres, with the existing restaurant footprint coming in around 8,000 square feet. The LoopNet record for 132 Brandon Town Center Drive lists the lot size as 2.50 acres and the building size at about 8,024 square feet, a setup that fits the typical redevelopment playbook for free-standing quick-service restaurants; see the LoopNet property record for details.
How this fits into Cane’s Florida push
Raising Cane’s has been steadily expanding across Florida over the last year, and the Brandon project was first reported late in 2025. As reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the chain has several new Florida locations in the works and has been zeroing in on suburban retail corners for drive-thru builds.
When it might open
The company has not announced a public opening date yet. Job listings calling out a “new restaurant opening” at the Brandon address show that Raising Cane’s is hiring as site prep gets underway, according to current listings on Indeed. At other Cane’s locations, similar postings typically appear several months before staff training and a grand opening.
What neighbors can expect
Plans include refreshed landscaping and parking improvements meant to modernize that corner of the shopping center and help keep drive-thru traffic moving. Nearby residents and shoppers should expect demolition noise and occasional construction traffic during the August window while abatement and site clearing are completed.
More details, including an official opening timeline and contractor disclosures, are expected to surface as demolition wraps up and new permits are posted, and this story will be updated when those records or statements become available.
