CHATHAM — The South Side will soon welcome a Raising Cane’s restaurant to one of its busiest shopping centers.

A Raising Cane’s restaurant with dine-in and drive-thru service will soon open sometime this year 8652 S. Lafayette Ave., officials said. City Council approved the $3 million development Wednesday. The fast-food chain will replace the vacant Seaway Bank in the Chatham Ridge Shopping Center. 

Seaway Bank and Trust Company, once known as America’s largest Black-owned bank, was closed by the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation and sold to the State Bank of Texas of Dallas in 2017.

The 87th Street branch closed in 2021 and Seaway, A Division of Self-Help Federal Credit Union, opened at 645 E. 87th St. that same year.

The new restaurant will bring an estimated 50 permanent jobs to the community, according to a proposal from developers. ADA Architects will design the business. 

Raising Cane’s is expanding its footprint in the city. A  South Loop location is set to open this year, and Lincoln Park could soon see one open at one of the neighborhood’s busiest intersections. 

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