Chicken restaurant to open in Seven Corners
Mason District is getting another chicken restaurant. Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers will take over the former Dogfish Head Alehouse building at 6220 Leesburg Pike in the Seven Corners Shopping Center.
The restaurant will open in the middle or end of 2024, a company spokesperson says. They won’t announce an opening date more than six months in advance.
Raising Cane’s has a limited menu with just chicken fingers (as a meal or in a sandwich) and sides (crinkle-cut fries, Cane’s sauce, coleslaw, and Texas toast).
Dogfish Head Alehouse closed in May 2022 after the Saul Centers, the owner of the Seven Corners Shopping Center, raised the rent.
On Raising Cane’s opening day, 20 people will be randomly picked from the first 100 people in line to get a gift card for free food for a year.
There are more than 700 Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in North America and the Middle East. The Seven Corners location will be the first one in Fairfax County.
The chain was founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., by Todd Graves. He named the restaurant after his yellow lab. In 2021, Graves hosted Restaurant Recovery, a 10-episode TV program on Discovery+ that helped struggling restaurant owners recover from the pandemic.
What an incredibly odd choice for this location. Raising Cane’s is basically a fast-food restaurant. Most have drive-through lanes. Seems like they will probably end up demolishing the building, which is such a waste.
Agreed!! Also, Chikfilet is not far from this location.
Look at the neighborhood for walking & bikes. It’s older units with lower incomes. I bet this place will do well if prices are right. Every thing from seven corners to Bailey’s crossroads has been in a steady decline or for some time (crime, business changes) and the county board constantly pushes greater density but has to be “affordable” aka not possible for high end development (that’s for McLane and other areas). Keep voting for the clowns and what the tent burn down.
Actually, this site is not ideal for walking and bikes — it is sandwiched between Route 7 and Route 50. There are low-income apartments on the east side of the shopping center, but other than that the residential area on the other side of Route 7 is expensive single-family homes. and condos. This is not a decision based on serving a low-income community and walkability. It’s expedient, and it’s BF Saul throwing its hands up in the air and giving up since the thriving business that had been in that spot left more than a year ago because of BF Saul’s greed in raising the rent so much. Their reward was no rent at all, and ours is a VERY limited menu fast-food place. It’s a lose-lose.
Where is McLane?
Do you mean McLean?
I definitely value the opinions of people who don’t know how to spell the names of the places in their community.
McLean is spelled different than you used. There’s one that owns alot of McLean he has not developed. It. BTW across the street of 7Corners is Ravenswood, Sleepy Hollow and Lake Barcroft which are expensive areas.
Yes they always demolish the existing building when opening a new location.
I much prefer this to the Vape megastore I was expecting to open in this spot.
The fact that the new Chicken Restaurant will take a year or more to open will give me plenty of time to build up my appetite!
Sigh. How anticlimactic.
Great another chicken place… chicken and korean food. All we ever get around here.
Someone call the waaambulance
Agreed, what a wasted opportunity. The food scene in this area is seriously lacking, the options are so limited. Will continue to drive to neighboring towns for decent food.
It’s almost like neighboring towns are only 10-15 minutes away so it’s really not that bad? If you live in the DMV and you’re complaining about a lack of food diversity, branch out to more food types because we are definitely not lacking in variety.
I think you missed the point of their comment. We should not have to drive 15 mins to leave chicken central. Do you really need a dozen korean and chicken places that sell the same things in a 3 mile radius. Theres literally a wingstop, hangry joes, popeye and chickfila occupying the same intersection.
My friends say it’s better than cfa, exciting get for the area!
Agreed, I’m excited too. They were going to open one in Union Station by where I work at but the sign is gone so I think they canceled that one, guess I’ll have to wait for this one.
Wish this was a healthier choice place; the U.S. population is fat enough and if you look at agribusiness poultry farming you will lose your appetite. But I guess this is what people want and where they will spend their money. ☹️
There’s plenty of Peruvian chicken places which is a healthier chicken place. I do agree though, I wish there were more (more like even just one) fast casual salad places (a la Mezeh) in Annandale.
Do they serve craft beer? If not, go away.
We need good barbecue like Texas Jack in Arlington.
Yes
In the mid 2010’s there was a major community effort to come up with a new vision, a new comprehensive plan for Seven Corners. It was an arduous process that took several years, but a vision emerged of a vibrant destination with community serving retail and amenities.
This announcement is disheartening for those who hoped that Seven Corners would be more than the haphazard development and random businesses we have today.
Chicken anyone?
So, we went from a sit down restaurant to now basically another fast food chicken joint. What an upgrade.
https://raisingcanes.com/menu
GROSS
Totally agree Leo — extremely SAD
No Pam B — this is not what “people want”
This is what Mason District is accepting — WE are going down hill (to be polite)
What can WE do Leo —
Excuse ME, I need to leave–I am Soooooo Disappointed
YUMMERS!! Raising Cane’s chicken is *chef’s kiss*. You can never have enough chicken options, am I right?
It’s a tremendous downgrade. BF Saul, who can hardly be said to be hard up for money, because of greed raised the rent so much that they lost a thriving neighborhood pub that also engaged with the community B and even survived the pandemic. BF Sauls’ reward was to get no rent at all, and our reward is a fast-food place with an EXTREMELY limited menu. And it’s inconceivable that the current building won’t be torn down, which is a huge waste. I’m glad that it will provide employment for people, but other than that this is a very big disappointment.
I remember when Seven Corners was a premier indoor shopping center, and Lord and Taylor was great. Then the planners put in the horrendous little brick apartment complexes and the area rapidly deteriorated. If you have the Neighbors app, look at all the crime around those brick apartment complexes. Until those go, the area is doomed.
Horrendous little apartment buildings? I guess God forbid that your housekeeper and yard man should live anywhere near you.
I don’t have a housekeeper or a yard man. I do it all myself – and I follow federal law.
I wouldn’t count my chickens before they hatch. (Sorry for the pun).
When DFA left, Saul Centers indicated it would have a new tenant within 2 months. It’s now been 14 months.
And then it was reported, either here or on ffxnow maybe that they were putting in am urgent care.
And middle or end of 2024 is a full year out. That’s a lot of time for business conditions to change.
I miss Dogfish! Was really hoping for something similar. I’ve had Raising Canes in Richmond before – it’s fine for a quick lunch but that’s about it. Not a dinner spot.
I hope it fails and Saul loses money
I’m at a loss for words. A fun, sit-down restaurant and brewhouse that was active in the community (sponsoring youth sports teams, hosting fundraisers for local schools) is being replaced by a fast-food joint that serves fried chicken fingers?? My daughter goes to college in Ohio. They have a Cane’s there. Candidly, we enjoy the food for what it is, and I’ve always wanted one in our area. But not to replace something like Dogfish that is a real restaurant. I had no idea that Dogfish left because their lease become too expensive. I thought they were struggling and hence, needed to close their doors.
I have lived in mason District for 23 years, and in the Baileys neighborhood for all but three of them. As development boomed in the region, I was excited about (and was told by others to anticipate) it eventually reaching our neighborhood. But alas, here we are in 2023 and not only hasn’t that promise of redevelopment been realized, but the area has significantly declined.
I travel east on Columbia pike through Baileys crossroads weekly for work. Every trip, I see throngs of homeless people sprawled out asleep (or high/hungover) on the bus shelter benches, homesless encampments spring up along the exit ramp from Route 7 to North Columbia Pike. Trash strewn everywhere, and old dated shopping centers with either increasing numbers of vacant storefront, or new stores opening that are much of the same old same old. And lets not even talk about the joke that is “Baileys Interim Park.” I read recently that the county spent $150,000 on that garbage. To boot, crime has increased exponentially – including violent crime/shootings – to the extent that Bailey’s is more akin to living in a poorer section of DC than Fairfax County. What is happening??? Bailey’s has become a dumping ground for the worst of Fairfax County, and its clear that the county government sees it as such.
We are literally surrounded by aggressive development in every direction. Alexandria city to the East, Arlington to the North, Falls Church City to the west – while even more far flung suburban neighborhoods like Merrifield get amazing, progressive redevelopment like the Mosaic district. And what’s interesting is that when you follow the development process – proposals, public hearings, zoning, etc – these municipalities refuse to let the typical concerns stand in the way of progress. Affordable housing, green space, traffic, infrastructure. They address these issues up front, include them in their planning, and do what is necessary to improve their communities.
We are a stones throw from DC and the new Amazon HQ2, but old homes in my neighborhood continue to go up for sale, builders/developers continue not to purchase them, and they are purchased, cheap, as-is, and lived in in the same condition they’ve been in for decades. If the same homes were for sale at the same price in Arlington or Alexandria, someone would’ve scooped them up quickly and either completed renovated them, or even torn them down and build 2 or 3 homes on the same lot. It happens every day, even in a “down” housing market.
Judging by the comments on this article, I am far from the only resident that feels this way. So that begs the questions: whey weren’t we able to elect a new district supervisor who prioritizes the revitalization of what is now a run-down, embarrassingly blighted neighborhood? I saw myself and my family living here, perhaps through retirement. But now, I have serious concerns about our property value, and the direction that this neighborhood is taking.
Amen!
The residents of Mason district didn’t get out and vote for someone who actually got involved in the community and instead the ones that did voted for a guy who doesn’t regularly attend the committee meetings that he is supposed to. The area is run down and getting worse.
Commercial real estate and retail are in trouble not only locally, but nationwide and also globally. Fairfax County’s office vacancy rate is close to 20%. While the pandemic is getting blamed for the work at home dynamic, it has been going on for years, many years before the pandemic. The owners only answer to their shareholders and have disconnected from the communities they “serve”. Much of this is outfall from the S&L crisis which thought it had solved this problem only to find it pushed the problem to the future which is now. This county should “incentivize” redevelopment by imposing more stringent blight taxes for those buildings that don’t redevelop and increase it as they resist. But many will go under with their inability to refinance now with the banking issues. In other words, it’s complicated.
Exactly!! On all counts!! And we voted for Where’s Waldo as Sup so no improvements coming for a long time of ever. Apparently slum life is what the majority crave.
For someone who is “at a loss for words” you sure typed quite a few…
I’m a bit mixed on this decision. On one hand I’ve always wanted to try Rasing Caine’s, but on the other hand I can understand why people are disappointed that this isn’t something more upscale like Dogfish Head.
Excellent comment. In my opinion, it is not realistic to expect something more “upscale” in this location than the Red Robin located a short distance away until the seven corners area is redeveloped.
Right now, if someone wants a more upscale dining experience than can drive a few extra miles to the City or Falls Church, Alexandria City, Tyson’s, or Arlington County.
I am someone who would want a long-term plan to redevelop Seven Corners’ back into its former glory of having a resemblance to Tysons’ Corner. But as I said, it will unfortunately take time and I would rather have something to replace Dogfish Head than for it to be vacant for the time being. I used to live in Fairfax City, and I can attest that even they have a problem with leaving buildings vacant for years. In fact, there is one restaurant on Main Street that has been vacant since 2007, 16 years.
People keep crying about Dogfish but did anyone ever go there? It was not fine dining. It was ot even l that nice.
I went to Dogfish a few times when I lived near Seven Corners. It was just *okay,* and I feel like it fit in with the mediocrity of the neighborhood. That whole area feels out of place given the broader DC area. I personally am looking forward to Raising Cane’s, but I agree with other commenters that this whole area can and should be upgraded.
We have bad representation that will be getting worse with the Jimenez who is missing in action and Penny Gross building her low income palace next to Acura to compliment the Homeless shelter that no wants to own, including the County .
People in LB are calling out “Where’s Waldo?” (i.e. Jimenez). He is nowhere and don’t expect more; his claim to fame is missing 30% of his committee meetings. Got pushed in by the Dem establishment and the Dem Dummies in Sleepy Hollow and Ravenswood that want to keep Mason down.
Don’t expect improvements, just more of the same ghetto x 10:-(
I’m too upset to contribute again.
Very SAD what is happening to Mason District.
Penny Gross was district supervisor for far too long and grew complacent. The times passed her by. But she kept getting re-elected. We should have term limits for district supervisors, so that new ideas and new ways of looking at problems should abound. And we as citizens need to really look at candidates and not vote for them just because we identify with one political party or another. Bsically, we got what we asked for, we just didn’t know we did not want it till now.
I for one am very excited for this. What a great choice!
So I was in this shopping center the other day and noticed there is fencing all around the old Dogfish Head building. No indication of what’s going on but seems likely the building is about to be demolished. I guess this fast-food chicken joint is still happening? Ugh!