Lexi Friesen | Social Media Editor

“It’s the Cane’s sauce really,” junior Nick Stern said. “Because at 5 a.m. when it was freezing, I was asking myself if it was worth it, but now that it’s over, I would do it again.”

Raising Cane’s, now serving up fried chicken on Lexington Avenue near Target, was an idea originally developed by college business student Todd Graves in Louisiana. He received the worst grade in his class and his professor told him a restaurant for chicken fingers would never work. Nearly 20 years later, Graves has opened over 150 restaurants worldwide.

Raising Cane’s officially came to the north metro on Thursday, October 8 when they opened their doors in Shoreview The combination of chicken fingers — claimed to have been marinated for 24 hours — Texas Toast, and coleslaw make Cane’s “the perfect variety and a must,” according to senior Mark Torppey.

As a part of their grand opening, Raising Cane’s announced that the first 10 people in line for the 10 a.m. opening would receive free meals for a year. Two Bethel students, Stern and Torppey, were part of the 10 people to receive the coveted prize.

“I didn’t even hear about the ‘Free Cane’s for a Year’ until the day of — I overheard some girls on the basketball team talking about it,” Torppey said. ”It was an extremely last-minute and game time decision.”

Stern explained that at first he wasn’t planning to go at all. Although he had a love for chicken fingers, he wasn’t sure if he was willing to stay up all night. However, his friend, Torppey, was the ultimate convincer. Torppey left right after football practice on Wednesday, but first made a stop at home for blankets and a pillow. Even though Stern went along, he still wasn’t sure if he was going to spend the whole night.

“The first guy in line has already been there since noon,” Stern said. “That’s commitment.”

Phones were able to connect to the Wi-Fi from Target, so time was passed by checking social media and working on homework. While the hours passed, many people drove by wondering how many spots were left, but Torppey, Stern and the other eight people, most of whom were students at the University of Northwestern, assured people they wouldn’t be leaving or giving up their spots.

Around 3 a.m. on Thursday the rain began to fall. Stern and Torppey both went back to their cars, only to re-emerge when the sky cleared up as the sun was rising a few hours later. Toprpey claims “the night felt like an eternity.”

So what does free Raising Cane’s for a year entail?

The first 10 people received a special card, good for one box of chicken fingers per week. Stern explained that the card resets every Monday so if he doesn’t use the meal, it doesn’t rollover into the next week. If used all 52 weeks of the year, Torppey and Stern will each save over $400.

“I’m bound to get sick of it,” Stern laughs. “I’ll have to give some meals to friends, but at least then the meals won’t be going to waste.”

Torppey wasn’t feeling as charitable.

“It’s too early to be skipping meals and I don’t think it will happen to me for awhile,” he said. “I have had over a dozen people ask for a free meal though.”