Several restaurants including a Raising Cane's are coming to a development called French Quarter Square under construction in Perrysburg Township.
"Raising Cane’s is excited to bring its ONE LOVE — quality chicken fingers — to the Toledo area in late 2022," a spokesman for the popular Louisiana fried chicken chain said, adding a formal announcement with more details was still to come.
The New Orleans-style shopping center is at 10630 Fremont Pike, just east of the I-75 interchange and in the midst of a busy shopping corridor.
Exteriors of two buildings are complete, said Bill Bostleman, president of developer River Rock Property Group, and tenants are working on the interiors.
Tenants in one of the buildings, so far, include a Condado Tacos, a Biggby coffee, and a CYCLEBAR, which offers indoor cycling classes. Those three businesses are expected to open mid-year.
In the other building will be the swim school SafeSplash and a beauty salon. The 6,000-square-foot SafeSplash is expected to open by the end of the year, owner Chris Peters said in an announcement.
A third building, still under construction, will house a BIBIBOP Asian Grill, a breakfast and brunch spot First Watch, as well as two other businesses. Those businesses are expected to open in the fall.
The Raising Cane's — still to be constructed by the chain — will be located as a standalone restaurant at the front of the shopping complex, according to a site plan. The closest Cane’s location now is in Sandusky, with several more in the Cleveland area.
Several Toledo-area residents — led by WTOL-TV Sports Director Jordan Strack —have long campaigned on social media for Cane's to open a location nearby.
"A couple years ago, I started the #CanesToNWOhio movement and I am blown away by how crazy it’s gotten," Mr. Strack wrote on Twitter this week. "You all send me photos of your meals whenever you’re out of town & find a @raisingcanes - it’s been so fun. People come up to me in person all the time & talk to me about it."
He added he heard from Cane's early last year about a likely location in the Toledo area, but had to "keep this secret" until now. "I can't believe it," he wrote. "But it's happening. Finally."
The mixed-used development — expected to cost about $15-$20 million once complete — takes the place of the former Holiday Inn French Quarter, which was demolished last year after closing in 2019. It had been in operation more than 50 years.
"We're very proud of the look of the center," Mr. Bostleman said. "We've maintained the French Quarter theme, keeping with the hotel that was there, that everybody remembers."
First Published January 5, 2022, 11:07 p.m.
