Lawsuit claims landlord wants to evict Raising Cane’s because restaurant “smells like chicken fingers”
By Neal Riley
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BOSTON (WBZ) — Raising Cane’s claims in a lawsuit that a Boston landlord has threatened to evict one of its locations in the Back Bay because the restaurant “smells like chicken fingers.”
The eatery opened on Boylston Street in 2022 in a 100-year-old building and had a lease through 2037. The lawsuit says the trouble started when the landlord began renting out office space on the second floor, and the tenants there complained of the “offensive odor.”
Raising Cane’s, which calls chicken fingers its “one love,” says it spent more than $200,000 to try and minimize the odor.
“Despite these efforts, Defendant continues to complain that its tenant’s chicken finger restaurant smells like chicken fingers,” the company said in its lawsuit. “In reality, it appears that Defendant has come to the realization that its own build-out of the second-floor office space was poorly executed.”
The lawsuit says that Raising Cane’s was informed last month that its lease would be terminated because of the “offensive and/or nuisance odors.”
The defendant is 775 Boylston LLC, which is affiliated with Heath Properties in Boston. Heath told WBZ-TV it has “no comment” on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that that the landlord tried to force Raising Cane’s to waive its right in the lease to be the “exclusive chicken restaurant” in the building. It says the landlord has been negotiating a lease with Panda Express to rent a spot right next to Raising Cane’s where a Starbucks used to be.
Panda Express has one other city location in the Boston University student union. Raising Cane’s also has a restaurant by the B.U. campus on Commonwealth Avenue, as well a location by Downtown Crossing.
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