Kasey's Critiques
Don't Be a Chicken, Try Something New!
Kasey McCra
Media Marketing
Living in a small town, the first thing that comes to mind when going out of town is… where are we going to eat? I typically choose a restaurant where I can order chicken. As chicken restaurants continue to grow, it might be difficult to find the best one. Raising Canes and Chick-Fil-A seem to be two of the most popular, so I decided to scratch around to find which is the best.
Raising Cane’s started in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by founder Todd Graves. Despite being told that his chicken finger business would never work, Todd and his crew went from being a single campus restaurant to one of the fastest growing restaurant brands in the United States. Todd worked 12 to 20 hour days to earn the money he needed to open the first Raising Cane’s at the entrance of Louisiana State University in 1996. They were so busy that day, they had to stay open until 3 a.m. Raising Cane’s debuted in Kansas City, Kansas in 2017. Since then, the chain has opened seven different locations in Kansas.
Chick-Fil-A was established by S. Truett Cathy. Truett first started a small business, “The Dwarf Grill,” with his brother, Ben, in 1946. The business had such success that it led Truett to open his own restaurant in 1967 in the Atlantas Greenbriar Shopping Center. Chick-Fil-a; however, it did not gain popularity until October of 2003, when the store announced that they were offering the first 100 people a free combo meal every week for a year. Chick-Fil-A continues to grow in popularity because of their great customer service, preparing food for more than 3,000 restaurants in 47 states. Chick-Fil-A came to Olathe, Kansas in 2006. There are a total of 21 restaurants in the state of Kansas today.
The popularity has grown quickly with both restaurants, but which is the best place for consumers who are in the mood for chicken? First, I checked online to see what people in other states thought about these restaurants. Then, I surveyed five people right here at OHS; three out of five preferred Chick-Fil-A over Cane’s. OHS FACS teacher Ms. Cook said that she likes the Cane’s bread and their sauce, but would prefer to eat Chick-Fil-A, because Chick-Fil-A has better fries and chicken. Reviews of Chick-Fil-A also mentioned their fries, and people loved their lemonade and customer service, too. Reviews showed that the Cane’s chicken was very good - which aligned with OHS band teacher Kelli Burrus’ review - and the bread was awesome with the Cane’s sauce. Addison Poore, junior at OHS, would agree. The reviews of their staff's hospitality was also positive.
At OHS, it seems to be split as to which is better: Chick-Fil-A or Raising Cane’s. There doesn’t seem to be a defined pecking order, either place would be delicious, but if you’re wanting to pair fries with your chicken, Cane's may not be the place for you. Based on the results, the hospitality alone of both food brands make each worth trying!