Milford official: Raising Cane’s to reapply for Route 1 location at former Milford Bank

MILFORD — Weeks after pausing plans for a local restaurant over a failed regulation change proposal, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers is expected to reapply for a permit next month to build a restaurant on a former Milford Bank site at 1455 Boston Post Road, City Planner David Sulkis said.

“We are expecting that a new plan will be submitted shortly and with an accompanying regulation change,” Sulkis said Thursday. “They are expected to address many of the issues raised previously by the board.”

The popular franchise had Milford lined up for its newest outlet in Connecticut, but the city's Planning and Zoning Board voted in February to reject its attempt to halve the number of parking spaces required at city restaurants. Board members said they feared too much traffic would end up parking on city streets. Attorney Sara Sharp, representing the company, had argued that the parking requirements were outdated and “results in too much parking, especially in fast food where people are going to use the drivethru instead of dining in.”

Raising Cane's first state outlet, in Enfield, opened the same month to hundreds of people who had camped out the night before, requiring police to direct the daylong traffic crush.

The advertising industry trade magazine “Ad Age” called Raising Cane's one of the hottest brands of 2023, noting that it had attracted more than 1.3 billion views on Tik Tok as of July. Today it has about 1.2 million followers on Instagram.

Attempts to contact a Raising Cane's spokesperson were not immediately successful.