Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers officially opened in Kahului on Tuesday to a crowd of about 150 individuals. The first person in line, Frank Barbosa, arrived before noon on Monday, and was joined in line shortly after by several more people who kept each other company for the next 11 hours until the restaurant officially opened on Tuesday morning.

“I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I tasted a lot of chicken, but when I bite into that chicken, I’m going to figure it out,” he said.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is a first for Maui, but the eighth for the national chicken chain in the state, joining seven other restaurants on Oʻahu.

The 3,000 square foot Maui restaurant is located in front of Loweʻs Home Improvement on Hoʻokele Street. The restaurant hired 110 crew members and presented several checks today in the amount of $2,500 each to Maui High School, Kahului Boys and Girls Club and the Hawaiʻi Animal Foundation, and the Hawaiʻi All Star Cheer Rainbow Fund, as part of the grand opening celebration.

Twenty customers received free Cane’s for a Year as part of the pre-opening festivities, and the first 100 customers received a free Cane’s t-shirt and box combo card to use at a later visit.

Pacific Media Group’s KISS FM Morning crew, Ed Kanoi and Brandee joined in the opening event, broadcasting live as the restaurant welcomed its first guests.

Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The opening comes two days ahead of Hawaiʻi’s first Chick-fil-a restaurant, which is located further west on Hoʻokele Street in the Puʻunēnē Shopping Center.