OCALA, FL (352today.com) – More than 200 Ocala residents lined up outside the brand-new Raising Cane’s at 2410 SW College Road starting around 8 a.m.–a good two hours before the restaurant technically opened–on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, to be part of the franchise’s grand opening and maybe win some swag and free chicken fingers.
Patrons queued for numbered lanyards and raffle tickets, hoping to be one of the 20 folks lucky enough to win free Raising Cane’s for a year, or at least one of the many who took home other prizes. Local luminaries such as Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano and Madison Parolini, aka Miss Ocala, spoke during the ribbon-cutting ceremony just after 9 a.m.
Not everyone was there to celebrate, however. Several members of international anti-animal abuse group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals lined SR 200 in front of the restaurant, battling the high-volume techno music blaring from the event with megaphone-amplified chants and stories of sick and tortured chickens in the industrial agribusiness system. The group capped off its protest with a symbolic spilling of red liquid on the sidewalk, and a message about how Raising Cane’s “has blood on its hands.”
Check out our photos and videos of the event. (Photos by Scott Harrell/352Today)
