Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers

History

Todd Graves first started dreaming of his very own restaurant in the early 1990s. Craig Silvey, an initial partner in Todd's plan, was enrolled in a business plan writing course at LSU at the time. They wrote the business plan and Silvey turned it in, for which Silvey received a "B-". Although the business plan was rejected numerous times by potential investors, Graves set out to earn the money he needed to start the restaurant, first by working in refineries in California, then by fishing for sockeye salmon in Alaska. He and Silvey then obtained a SBA loan, which they used to open the first restaurant in Baton Rouge at the intersection of Highland Road and State Street near the LSU campus. They even drew on the help of friends and family for some of the work on Cane's 1, and many of these names are carved in the restaurant woodwork. Originally, the small restaurant competed against a similarly themed drive-in called Bailey's Chicken Fingers on the opposite end of the campus. By 1999, however, it was able to prove itself the more successful business: it forced Bailey's out of business, becoming the only chicken-finger focused restaurant in the area.

In mid-1999, Silvey sold his stake to Graves to focus on completing an MBA at Wake Forest University and work in Silicon Valley. Later, Graves asked Silvey to return as vice president of finance and information technology.

By 2008, the chain had grown to more than 50 locations. Most of the locations are in Louisiana, particularly in the Baton Rouge area. The first location outside of Baton Rouge was opened in 2001 in Lafayette—since then, new restaurants have been opened in 22 other states, in addition to all eight metropolitan areas of Louisiana. Graves plans to continue expansion of the chain throughout the United States and internationally, one each in Kuwait (opened September 2015) & Bahrain (opened September 2016); Saudi Arabia plans to open one in April 2017. Today there are over 310 locations in 23 states. Tennessee opened one in Knoxville in September 2014. California has 5 West Coast locations, all but one in Orange County: the first opened in late October 2015 in Costa Mesa; the second in early December in Aliso Viejo; the third in early March 2016 in Orange; and the fourth had opened in mid-June in Laguna Hills. The very first in L.A. County and fifth overall had opened in Downey in late August. Kansas opened its very first in Lawrence in early May, and the second opened in Overland Park in early October. Iowa opened its very first in Council Bluffs in mid-October. Illinois opened its very first in North Riverside, a Chicago suburb in late January 2017, to make it the 23rd state overall; the second opened in mid-February in Oak Lawn and the third will open in Naperville in April.

In January 2009, the company opened a second restaurant support office in Plano, Texas. In June 2011 it opened its 100th restaurant in Laurel, Mississippi. In February 2013 it opened its 150th location in San Antonio, Texas. The milestone 250th location opened in December 2015 in Lake Jackson, Texas. By November 2016 Houston, Texas hosted the milestone 300th restaurant's opening, on Rice & Westpark Tollway.

CEO Graves and the chain have given more than 25 percent of their profits back to the communities where restaurants operate with an emphasis on schools, food banks, active lifestyles, canine assistance and business and entrepreneur organizations.

Name

Graves and Silvey, who both worked as salmon fishermen in Alaska to raise money to open the first Raising Cane's restaurant, were going to name the chain Sockeye's Chicken Fingers, after the Sockeye salmon they fished for. They were later convinced to name it after Graves's dog, a yellow Labrador, "Raising Cane," called "Cane" for short. The most recent mascot for the restaurant, Raising Cane II, died September 11, 2016 and there has yet to be confirmation if the Graves will get a new dog. "Raising Cane I" died of old age.

Logo

The original Raising Cane's was established in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the North Gates of Louisiana State University, at the intersection of East State Street and Highland Road. When remodeling the building, Graves discovered a hand painted sign featuring the logo from a previous business, Wolf's Bakery, under the cracking plaster on the south interior wall. It is a takeoff on the one for the bakery. The remains are still visible and intact on the wall inside the restaurant.

Menu

Raising Cane's offers a limited menu consisting of four main combos: "The Box Combo," "The 3-Finger Combo," "The Caniac Combo" and "The Sandwich Combo." It also includes a Kid's Meal and several sizes of bulk chicken items called Tailgates.

Sauce

Cane's Sauce is provided with all chicken finger meals and is the signature sauce of the restaurant. Only managers at Cane's have access to the recipe and are allowed to make the sauce. They are held to a confidentiality agreement regarding any details about the recipe, which features a pre-made mix of spices that come pre-packaged to each restaurant.