A national chicken-finger chain has applied to build a drive-thru restaurant at the former Shari's Cafe and Pies location in Hillsboro's Sunset Esplanade shopping center, filling a storefront that has been dark since October 2024.
The city of Hillsboro confirmed Monday, July 13, that it received a development review request to construct a Raising Cane's at 2385 S.E. Tualatin Valley Highway, a city spokesperson told the Hillsboro News-Times.
A public notice for the land use application went out in November 2025, meaning the proposal has been working through the city's process for roughly eight months.
No approvals or permits have been issued. The application remains under administrative review, and the city did not provide a timeline for a decision.
Raising Cane's not confirming plans
When asked about the Hillsboro proposal, a Raising Cane's representative said, "As of now, we do not have any confirmed plans we can share at this time."
The chain has been actively scouting the Portland metro area. In August 2025, the company told the Portland Business Journal it planned to operate up to 15 restaurants in the greater Portland and Eugene area and hired Portland-based Urban Works Real Estate to find sites.
The chain's preferred locations include corner spots with stoplight-controlled access and drive-thru capability. Those expansion plans are nearly a year old, and specifics may have shifted since.
Raising Cane's operates one Oregon location, at Pioneer Place mall in downtown Portland, which opened in 2019. A second location operates in Vancouver, Washington.
Vacancy and local pattern
Shari's Cafe and Pies abruptly closed all of its Oregon restaurants in October 2024 due to financial difficulties, leaving the Tualatin Valley Highway site empty. If approved, Raising Cane's would be the second restaurant chain to fill a former Shari's space in Hillsboro. Elmer's Restaurant moved into the former Shari's in Tanasbourne Village in 2025.
How to track the application
Because this is an administrative review, city staff will make the decision rather than the City Council or a public hearing body. The city's permitting center website states that land use applications are generally processed in four to six weeks, though no specific timeline was given for this case.
Residents who want to track the application or submit comments can contact the city's permitting center at [email protected] or visit hillsboro-oregon.gov.
