Call it the Sistine Chapel of drive-thrus.
Raising Cane’s, the nationwide fast food chain famous for its chicken fingers and creative restaurant design, just opened its first “immersive art” location in the Long Beach Towne Center.
The flashy new store is plastered with hand-painted murals by Grammy award-winning Long Beach artist Dave Van Patten. Most notably, drivers pulling up to the take-out windows will pass through tunnels with interiors almost completely enveloped in Van Patten’s work.
Going through drive-thru lane No. 1, drivers will be surrounded by Van Patten’s mural of a dog dance party inspired by the song “Atomic Dog” by George Clinton. Van Patten said he was going for a retro vibe that depicts people coming together for a fun time.
In drive-thru lane No. 2, customers are surrounded by Van Patten’s favorite piece at the restaurant, one he calls a “love letter to Long Beach.”
In it, locals bask in a sunny Sunday afternoon riding bikes, skateboarding, surfing or walking their dogs. It’s the kind of day that leaps to mind when Van Patten thinks about why he loves Long Beach.
“I think that Long Beach represents just a really great culture, a very community-minded culture, a very humble and welcoming culture. I think it represents kindness,” Van Patten said.
Raising Cane’s has carved out a niche for restaurant designs with flair — at one point partnering with Post Malone for a completely pink-wrapped restaurant — and last year, drawing backlash when it planned to convert an iconic Googie-style Norm’s restaurant into a new Cane’s.
In this case, Raising Cane’s art director specifically asked for Van Patten’s help with designs that would represent Long Beach while also incorporating the values of the corporation, something Van Patten said he was happy to try in a new, immersive format.
“I was just excited to take on new challenges, … to see my art represented in a different way,” he said.
If you’ve driven through Long Beach, you’ve probably seen Van Patten’s bold and surrealist style before, including his 60-foot mural on the side of Alex’s Bar.
In 2023, Van Patten even won a Grammy for his art design on a Grateful Dead box set, but he said he’d never worked quite as fast as he did on the Cane’s project, which required him to paint five walls and two ceilings in four and a half weeks.
“The time constraint was my biggest challenge, but is also the most exciting aspect of the mural, because I thrive on personal challenges,” he said.
In addition to the two tunnels, diners who pull into the parking lot will also see a mural of the Raising Cane’s signature dog sitting near the beach at sunset with a boombox on his shoulder.
“To me, the hip-looking guy with the boombox is Long Beach,” Van Patten said.
Raising Cane’s aims to create a similar environment in all of its restaurants, and the corporation has always been active in neighborhoods where it places stores, supporting over 30,000 local organizations, according to its website.
“Our goal is to be a positive, lasting presence in this community we’re proud to call home,” Restaurant Leader Valentin Alvarez said in a press release
The new Raising Cane’s celebrated its grand opening Tuesday morning, where the first 20 customers won free food for a year.
The new Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers immersive art restaurant, 7204 Carson St., is open Sunday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.