By Ben van der Meer  –  Senior Reporter, Sacramento Business Journal

Mar 31, 2023 Updated Mar 31, 2023, 10:40am PDT

Redevelopment of the closed Sears property on Florin Road is taking shape, with a pre-application filed with Sacramento County for a new Raising Cane’s location on part of the site.

According to the pre-application, the 2,899-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru would be at 5901 Florin Road, on a newly created parcel directly on Florin and east of where it meets 65th Street.

Nina Correia, a project manager in Sacramento with engineering firm Kimley-Horn, said exact timing for the store to be built and opened is still to be determined.

“General development guidelines in the county are not definite, so we have to go through that process,” she said, adding the timeline should be clearer after the pre-application meeting for the project on April 13. Project proponents submit pre-applications to the county and meet with county staff to identify any areas of concern before submitting a formal proposal.

Chicken eatery Raising Cane’s would be open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. seven days a week, with 50 to 70 full- and part-time employees, according to the pre-application. The store itself would occupy a 1.24-acre parcel.

Hannah Henderson, public relations manager for Raising Cane’s, confirmed the planned location in an email to the Business Journal. The restaurant could open in the first quarter of 2025, Henderson said.

As part of the application, Kimley-Horn is also requesting a parcel map to divide the 19.8-acre parcel that includes the former Sears and surrounding parking. The site is at the western end of Florin Towne Centre, previously known as Florin Mall.

Dividing the parcel would allow new stand-alone developments on the property, which is currently unoccupied.

In the pre-application, a site plan for Raising Cane’s has a property immediately to its east labeled as a future Dutch Bros development. But Correia cautioned that such a description could reflect a group in talks with property owner Ethan Conrad rather than a confirmed project. Madison Fahey, a public relations specialist for Dutch Bros Inc. (NYSE: BROS), said she wasn’t familiar with a possible project at the site.

Conrad, in an email, said he couldn’t confirm any future tenants for the site beyond Raising Cane’s, but said he anticipated two more leases being signed for spaces there within the next week.

Correia said she’s aware of other tenants for the property overall, but added Raising Cane’s is likely to be the first one to open. It would join several current and future Raising Cane’s locations in the Sacramento area.

“They’re coming in pretty heavy in Northern California,” said Correia, who’s handling projects for the Southern-style chicken finger chain in the region. “I don’t see them slowing down.”