Raising Cane’s opens its Lynnwood location’s door to a crowd of hundreds

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 23, 2026

EVERETT — Rosa Murillo was camped out for the grand opening of Raising Cane’s Lynnwood location since noon the day before.

When the doors finally opened just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, she was first in a line that weaved through the parking lot. But what do you order after waiting for approximately 21 hours? The box combo, said Murillo.

“It’s the only way to go,” she said.

Murillo, who has been documenting the restaurant’s construction process for around 245 days on her TikTok, isn’t the only one excited for the fried chicken franchise’s fourth restaurant in the state. By the time the opening festivities kicked off, complete with a DJ and Lynnwood High School cheerleaders, 239 customers had already received numbered lanyards on top of the around 200 attendees without.

The 1232 164th St. SW location is the first in the county and the first in the greater area to have a drive-thru. The double-lane drive-thru and the addition of a right-in/right-out access point are intended to get fried chicken into customers’ hands faster and keep traffic moving in a congestion-prone area.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony began with a $2,500 donation to the Sno-King Youth Club, a nonprofit offering athletic programs supporting locals ages 3 to 18. Shortly after, City of Lynnwood Mayor George Hurst spoke about the excitement over welcoming Raising Cane’s.

“If you look at their website, it’s the people that work for them; that’s really important,” he said in his speech. “It’s also just their engagement with the community. Here’s a grand opening, and they’re already donating funds … so this is the type of business we like.”

When finding a location to open the newest Washington restaurant, the company looked for community interest and noted the enthusiasm from Lynnwood, said Mack O’Quinn, Raising Cane’s area leader of restaurants.

“The community has been nothing but welcoming since we’ve stepped foot to the ground,” he told The Daily Herald Tuesday.

For first-time Raising Cane’s visitors, O’Quinn is among those singing praises of the box combo, which includes four chicken fingers, fries, Cane’s Sauce, Texas Toast, coleslaw and a drink.

“It offers everything that we served our customers over the last 30 years,” he said.

As part of the festivities, Raising Cane’s held a “lucky 20” drawing awarding 20 customers with free Cane’s for a year. Among the winners was Sofia Barbosa.

“I’m still in shock,” she told The Daily Herald while waiting in line to order.

As a student who isn’t working at the moment, Barbosa is excited about the free year of food. Upon getting to the front of the line from her 103rd spot, she said she plans to order a box combo because “it’s the perfect amount.”

Raising Cane’s runs more than 1,000 restaurants across 40+ states. In 2026, the chain plans to open nearly 100 new locations. The Lynnwood location will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

The franchise’s growth over the next couple of years is focused on the Pacific Northwest, with a Covington, Washington, location slated to open early next year, O’Quinn said.

Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan