Tuesday morning was cold, but a crowd still gathered for an hourlong wait outside Warwick’s newest restaurant with a DJ preparing them for its grand opening.

Raising Cane’s, a chicken chain with more than 800 locations nationwide, opened its second location in Rhode Island at the corner of Bald Hill Road and West Natick Road, across the street from Warwick Mall.

Expanding the chain’s presence in New England has been a priority, according to Raising Cane’s regional vice president Nick Sandilands.  The success of its Johnston location, which opened in January on Atwood Avenue, led to the company looking to add more locations in the state.

“The community in Rhode Island, the Providence area in general, has been really excited about our chicken fingers, so we’re happy to be there for them,” Sandilands said.

Raising Cane’s also announced a partnership with Westbay Community Action, and presented a check worth $1,000 to Westbay CEO Paul Salera at the ceremony.

Sandilands said that staying involved in the local communities they’re in was an important part of how Raising Cane’s does its business.

“We’re real big believers in bringing a sense of community into the areas that we come into,” Sandilands said. “Our community involvement is very important to us- to show that we’re part of this community, right? We’re not just this big company coming in … Our marketing team connects with local organizations, and they work to find ones that align with our values and mission, and Westbay’s values and mission align with ours.”

The new business’s parking lot was full before the ribbon-cutting at 9:15 and well before Raising Cane’s opened its doors at 9:30, with the line half an hour beforehand stretching around the building. In a drawing, 20 of the customers gathered outside won free chicken from the restaurant for a year; each of the first 100 customers won a free beanie.

Raising Cane’s employees also told the audience the history of the chain, which was founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

After failing business school, Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves decided to work a few hard jobs to save up the money to start a restaurant. Among those jobs were working on an oil rig in California and a fishing boat in Alaska – thus, the mining helmet, which is given to each employee after a year working for the business, and a mounted sockeye salmon, present in each Raising Cane’s location, have become symbols of the company.

Cane’s employees presented restaurant leader Phil Yost with a hard hat to officially inaugurate the new location right before the ribbon was cut.

In addition to the salmon, the restaurant’s interior is decorated with local memorabilia from Warwick, West Warwick and Cranston, as the store is located near the convergence of the three.

The opening, Sandilands said, was a success.

“The community here has really showed up,” he said.

Raising Cane’s will be open from 10 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays, and 10 to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.