Raising Cane’s in Albuquerque opened its doors on March 28, 2060, 20 years after the intended opening date. Those gathered outside waiting to taste the infamous chicken said this was the 82nd time they've showed up for its opening.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the first mass destruction of the city caused by the roadrunner stampede and Dion's’ monopoly on all fast food restaurants, Cane’s had no other option but to delay their opening, according to Chick Fila, the only remaining employee and owner of the restaurant.
Still, the primary factor for delay was attributed to the Green Chile v. Red Chile War that reduced the city to ruins. However, despite all odds, they were still able to open after finding chicken at the ruins of La Posada, Fila said.
“I was just out scavenging, as one does, and I happened upon all this chicken in what I think used to be La Posada,” Fila said. “I don’t know how old it is, but it still looks like what they used to serve when I was a freshman. Exactly the same -- completely fresh. Almost like the chicken was killed yesterday!”
The chicken did not taste precisely like Raising Cane’s, but the leftover Cane’s Sauce he found under a radiator, which Fila described as “definitely not radioactive,” fixed the taste. The opening day was even more successful than he thought it would be when he first decided to serve the local community with chicken.
“I had two whole customers come to get chicken,” Fila said. “They stayed the whole time, though one did get violently ill in the bathroom after eating. I’m not sure why, though.”
All things considered, Fila has still found a way to enjoy the once-legendary chicken even if things weren’t quite what they used to be.
“I know it doesn't have the same taste,” Fila said. “But I’m still loving it.”
The new Raising Cane's location can be found on what used to be known as the corner of Rio Grande Boulevard and Central Avenue but is now more commonly referred to as the “Dead Zone.”
Elizabeth Secor is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at multimedia @dailylobo.com or on Twitter @esecor2003
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Elizabeth Secor is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted on Twitter @esecor2003
