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As Chicago media<\/a> fawns over national chicken<\/a> chain news with announcements about a location at O\u2019Hare International Airport and another at a prominent intersection<\/a> in Lincoln Park near DePaul University, a local chain is clucking for some love via social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Fry the Coop<\/a> owner Joe Fontana, took to Instagram to show customers how an upcoming Raising Cane\u2019s could harm his business at 2404 N. Lincoln Avenue, just down the street from the busy Halsted, Lincoln, and Fullerton intersection.<\/p>\n \u201cNo hate to Raising Cane\u2019s, buuuut we wish they weren\u2019t opening right across the street,\u201d Fry The Coop\u2019s Instagram post reads<\/a>.<\/p>\n The post brought out legions of fans to praise local chicken shops like Parson\u2019s Chicken & Fish and Red Light Chicken. They also lauded Fry the Coop\u2019s heat levels as the chain specializes in Nashville hot chicken fried in beef tallow.<\/p>\n Three weeks ago, Raising Cane\u2019s plastered its coming soon signs outside the former home of DePaul\u2019s White Elephant. The thrift store closed in 2012<\/a> after 93 years of operation, and the new restaurant at 2376 N. Lincoln Avenue could open in February or March. Raising Cane\u2019s arrived in Chicago with a Rogers Park location that opened in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fontana founded Fry the Coop in 2017 when he opened in suburban Oak Lawn<\/a>. He opened in Lincoln Park in October 2023, joining a number of affordable restaurants geared at students at DePaul and nearby Lincoln Park High School. That includes Ghareeb Narwaz and Chipotle. When Fontana hears stories about high school students with short lunch periods sprinting to Fry the Coop, coming into the restaurants out of breath and sweating, so they can grab lunch and make it back to class in time, he\u2019s happy.<\/p>\n But he says \u201cit\u2019s a bummer\u201d that he\u2019ll lose chicken tender business to Raising Cane\u2019s, a national chain that can afford to undercut Fry the Coop\u2019s pricing. A three-piece tender with fries at Raising Cane\u2019s costs about $11, depending on location. At Fry the Coop, a similar combo costs $15. That\u2019s a big difference for students, Fontana says.<\/p>\n Though Fontana is a big fan of rising tides \u2014 he notes neighborhood additions, like Parson\u2019s Chicken & Fish, bring more foot traffic and customers to the area \u2014 sometimes there\u2019s only room for so many chicken tender slingers. Raising Cane\u2019s is aggressive in opening stores near college campuses. The original debuted near Louisana State University and the Rogers Park location is near Loyola University. Building that brand awareness at a young age is critical, Fontana notes. It even extends to high school students, he adds. Some schools allow advertisements inside their buildings, which helps deep-pocketed companies, like Raising Cane\u2019s \u2014 the same company that paid actor Chevy Chase to reenact his Christmas Vacation<\/em><\/a> movie role in the suburbs. There are more than 800 Raising Cane stores across 41 states.<\/p>\n There are eight Fry the Coops around Chicago. A ninth is set to open on October 29 at 274 S. Weber Road in Bolingbrook, near the McDonald\u2019s spin-off<\/a>, CosMc\u2019s. Fontana has plans to open more, but the Villa Park native knows that the opportunities aren\u2019t as robust as the competition\u2019s. For example, Chick-fil-A just opened a location at Terminal 5 at O\u2019Hare<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we have anybody really pounding on our door,\u201d Fontana says.<\/p>\n