KAHULUI — Crowds flocked to Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers Tuesday, the first of two fast-food chicken restaurants to open on island this week.

And, chicken lovers won’t have to wait long for more, as Chick-fil-A will open down the street on Thursday, the very first of its restaurants in the state.

For Raising Cane’s, this is their first Maui location and eighth in Hawaii, with the seven others on Oahu.

About 150 people lined up around the Raising Cane’s Hookele Street location before its opening at 10 a.m., and dozens of cars had to look for parking elsewhere as the restaurant’s lot was filled about two hours before opening time.

Frank Barbosa of Kihei didn’t need to squeeze in to find a parking spot, as he arrived much earlier, around 12:30 p.m. on Monday. He showed up a day early hoping to be able to buy chicken but could not.

“I stayed from there, all in the fun,” said Barbosa, who was first in line.

He may be familiar to some, as he was also first in line when Filipino fast food restaurant Jollibee opened at Maui Marketplace in January 2020.

“I love chicken,” Barbosa said as festive music played in the background.

Standing alongside Barbosa was another familiar face from fast food restaurant openings — Clarence Fune of Kahului. He was the second in line at the opening of Jollibee and now claims the title of second in line at the Raising Cane’s opening.

“The last experience I had was fun. I wanted to do it again,” Fune said after spending the night at the restaurant. He arrived Monday afternoon.

He and Barbosa joked about how they still get recognized from being the first customers at Jollibee.

Once when they were both at Central Pacific Bank, Fune said he walked in and a person asked if he was in the Jollibee line. Then Barbosa walked in and someone else said, “Eh, that’s Jollibee number one,” Barbosa recalled.

When asked what he would order at Raising Cane’s, Barbosa said the “box combo, times four,” adding that he would share the rest with his children.

The box combo is one of the most ordered items on the menu, said General Manager Madelyn “Madie” Delacruz.

She said it includes all the restaurant has to offer — chicken fingers, the restaurant’s staple that can also be served in a sandwich; Texas Toast, which is cooked to order from pull-apart bread brushed with butter and garlic and grilled; crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw and a drink.

The restaurant is also known for its Cane’s sauce, which is tangy with a little bit of spice, as well as for its lemonade and famous tea, which can be served sweet or unsweetened.

The first Raising Cane’s was opened in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La. The company has locations across the country and also in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Delacruz, who hails from Oahu where she was part of the management team that opened the first Raising Cane’s on South King Street in Honolulu, said Tuesday morning that she was both nervous but also “a little excited.”

“It’s finally here, super excited,” she added.

Overall, Delacruz said they were able to reach their goal of bringing on 100 team members but are still hiring. She said they started recruiting workers ages 16 and up back in March. The ongoing labor shortage did not impact the restaurant’s start date, she said.

However, Raising Cane’s Marketing Leader Ali Urbick said in a statement last week that the restaurant did experience construction delays over the past year, but now “it is exciting to see projects completed.”

The Kahului restaurant is nearly 3,000 square feet and has an additional 1,500-square-foot lanai dining area. It has drive-thru, dine-in and takeout options.

Barbosa and Fune were joined in line on Tuesday by Dax Olsen of Kahului and Nash Dreiling of Wailuku, who were the third and fourth, respectively. They were the last ones in the door on Monday when Raising Cane’s closed after an invitation-only event. The two were able to eat some chicken on Monday, but decided to stay overnight to have more.

Olsen brought over a tent on his truck, along with a cooler, a television and an Xbox.

Dreiling, a Realtor, was dressed in slacks, as he said he needed to go to work later on Tuesday.

When asked what makes the chicken so good, Olsen said, “The crunch. The sauce.”

The restaurant near Lowe’s is open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday.

CHICK-FIL-A NEXT UP

As crowds lined up at Raising Cane’s, final touches were being made Tuesday morning at Chick-fil-A across from Zippy’s. The restaurant will open to the public at 6 a.m. Thursday.

“It’s just so exciting to see this and the excitement of the people,” said owner/operator Sean Whaley. “I got to interview so many people, it was awesome. … I got to talk to and meet the community.”

Whaley said they have hired team members ages 14 and up. The crew numbers around 160 full- and part-time team members and the restaurant is still hiring. He acknowledged that he was also worried if he would find enough workers but that the search did not delay the opening of the restaurant.

“Because this day and age, you don’t know. So fortunately we were able to accomplish that. It’s been an amazing feat,” he added. “The people were just incredible, too.”

Whaley was formerly the owner of a New York-style deli, Gandolfo’s New York Delicatessen, in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

He said that there he was the “small mom-and-pop business,” but that it was Chick-fil-A operators around him who advised him on how to handle food, labor and catering costs.

“It was really unique, and that was really neat as that’s what attracted me to Chick-fil-A,” he said.

As the owner/operator of the Kahului location, Whaley moved his family from California to Maui. He and his wife, Danielle, have three children, 14, 16 and 20. Whaley enjoys rugby and is interested in playing and/or coaching on Maui. As for his children, “from surfing to hiking, they are doing it all.”

The Kahului restaurant he’ll oversee offers dine-in, drive-thru and carryout service and can seat 114 guests inside and 46 on its outdoor patio. The drive-thru includes covered areas and a team member will take orders on a tablet. Another team member will take payment. The restaurant says this allows vehicles to move through more quickly than at a traditional speaker box drive-thru.

While chicken sandwiches and waffle potato fries may be top of mind for most customers, the restaurant also has salads, hand-spun milkshakes and cookies, and is also known for its lemonade. There is also a breakfast menu, served from 6 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The Kahului location is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

As for Whaley’s competitors, Raising Cane’s down the street, he said he was invited to their special event on Monday, where he met the manager, Delacruz.

Chick-fil-A officials said their next, but smaller operation will be in the food court at Ala Moana Center on Oahu later this year, followed by a drive-thru operation in Makiki either later this year or early 2023 and a restaurant in Kapolei similar to Maui’s in 2023.

Chick-fil-A is based in Atlanta and was founded in 1967. It has restaurants across the U.S. and Canada.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.