Raising Cane's is aiming to open its Carle Place restaurant in summer 2027, with demolition already complete and construction on Nassau County's first planned location possibly starting within the next few weeks. The chicken finger chain, known for its combos, Texas toast and Cane's sauce, has been steadily building toward a Long Island footprint, and Carle Place is shaping up to be a key piece of that push.
According to a report from Greater Long Island, demolition is finished at the site, which the outlet identifies as 357 Old Country Road, the former home of the Chateau Briand catering hall. The same report notes that construction on the restaurant could begin in a matter of weeks. Other coverage of the project has used different addresses along Old Country Road for the development, and the available reporting does not clarify whether those numbers refer to separate parcels within the same redevelopment or something else entirely.
The Carle Place project has moved through a lengthy approval process. A Newsday report noted that the Town of North Hempstead approved site plans for a Raising Cane's on Old Country Road in Carle Place back in April. As of a September 2026 Newsday report on the broader Long Island rollout, the chicken restaurant, along with a bank and retail building planned for the same site, were still working through plan review by the town, even though the town board had approved the site plan back in June 2025.
Timelines Have Shifted More Than Once
The Carle Place opening date has already moved once. An earlier Greater Long Island report had the restaurant, which it listed at 1028 Old Country Road, slated to open in early 2027. The chain's more recent target of summer 2027 pushes that window back. Newsday's September 2026 report attributed the delays across the company's Long Island projects generally to what it described as miscellaneous construction delays.
Commack Set to Be the Island's First Raising Cane's
Once it opens, Carle Place will follow behind the chain's actual Long Island debut in Commack, where construction is nearing completion at a former McDonald's site at 2 Vanderbilt Motor Parkway. That restaurant is planned to open in early 2027. The timeline there has also shifted: a Raising Cane's spokeswoman told Newsday in December 2025 that the company was aiming for a late 2026 opening in Commack, subject to town permitting and approvals, before the early 2027 date now cited.
The Town of Smithtown approved the Commack site plans by a 5-0 vote following a meeting on Dec. 2, 2025, per Newsday's reporting. The approved design calls for a one-story, 3,500-square-foot building with 45 indoor seats and 17 outdoor seats.
A Third Long Island Spot Remains in Limbo
Raising Cane's also has a third Long Island location in the planning phase, eyeing the former Houlihan's at 901 Broadhollow Road in the Republic Plaza shopping center along Route 110 in Farmingdale. The company had previously targeted a spring 2027 opening there, pending permits, but Greater Long Island's latest report says that timeline is now to be determined. Long Island Business News has reported that the proposed Farmingdale restaurant would include two drive-thru lanes, 72 indoor seats and 15 outdoor seats.
From a College Town Startup to a National Chain
Raising Cane's traces its roots back to 1996, when founder Todd Graves started the company near Louisiana State University, according to Greater Long Island's reporting. The chain has since grown into a brand with hundreds of restaurants across the U.S. and abroad; Long Island Business News reported that Raising Cane's now has more than 900 restaurants in the U.S. and Middle East after opening 118 new locations in 2024 alone.
The company made a notable East Coast push when it opened its Times Square flagship in June 2023. At the time, Graves said the company hoped to open hundreds of locations across New York, with a particular focus on the tri-state area. The pending Carle Place, Commack and Farmingdale projects suggest that ambition is still very much in motion on Long Island.
