Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Raising Cane’s Sues Back Bay Landlord Over Eviction Threat Tied to ‘Chicken Finger’ Odor

The chain alleges odor complaints are a pretext to bypass its exclusivity clause to recruit a Panda Express next door.

Overview

  • Raising Cane’s filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court last month seeking a declaratory judgment that it is not in breach of its lease and monetary damages.
  • The complaint says the landlord issued a January notice of termination and notice to quit citing “offensive and/or nuisance odors.”
  • The company reports spending more than $200,000 on mitigation, and consultants found odor migration linked to negative pressure from a second‑floor office build‑out.
  • The lease, signed in 2021 and running through 2037, grants Cane’s exclusive chicken-restaurant rights, which it says the landlord sought to waive to place a Panda Express in the former Starbucks next door.
  • The landlord entity, 755/775 Boylston LLC affiliated with Heath Properties, has declined public comment as the dispute moves through the courts.