Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers

History

Founding

Founders Todd Graves and Craig Silvey were studying at different universities when they wrote a business plan for a chicken-finger restaurant which Silvey submitted in a business plan-writing course, receiving a B-minus grade from the professor. At the time, Graves worked at Guthrie's Chicken Fingers.

The business plan was rejected numerous times by potential investors, so Graves and Silvey earned the needed money working various manual labor jobs. They obtained an SBA loan, which they used to open their first restaurant, located in Baton Rouge at the intersection of Highland Road and State Street near the LSU campus. Silvey sold his share of the partnership shortly after the second restaurant opened.

Leadership

Graves was the sole CEO of Raising Cane's after Silvey sold his share of the partnership. In 2014, AJ Kumaran, a seasoned restaurant executive, joined Cane’s as its chief operating officer. Three years later, Kumaran joined Graves as co-CEO.

Branding

In 1996, while renovating the first Raising Cane’s location near LSU, Graves uncovered an old mural from a former bakery, “Wolf’s Bakery,” that inspired the restaurant’s logo with its red-brick tones, flowing white script, and a yellow tagline declaring "bread at its best". The name “Raising Cane’s” pays tribute to his yellow Labrador, Cane. Locations features custom murals.

These brand elements can be seen in official merchandise released by Raising Cane's. In addition, Raising Cane's sells limited-edition merchandise, like the Graduation Plush Puppy released in 2025.

Expansion

In March 2020, many of Cane's locations switched from dine-in to pick-up and take-out service only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas others closed temporarily. As of July 2020, certain locations had reopened their dining rooms, although Graves said the company was in no rush to do so on a full scale.

In 2021, in response to a shortage of workers at the time, the company began dispatching hundreds of its corporate employees to work in its restaurants as cooks and cashiers, in addition to their existing duties regarding the hiring of new employees. The company planned to hire 10,000 new employees. The company's co-CEO said that the corporate employees are trained in the kitchen and on the register under normal circumstances.

In 2022, Raising Cane's sued a shopping center in Hobart, Indiana. After the restaurant chain had signed a long-term lease, it was revealed that the shopping center had a non-compete agreement with McDonald's which prohibited other vendors from selling de-boned chicken products in the complex.

On June 27, 2023, Raising Cane's opened up their first New York location in Times Square.

Products

Chicken Fingers

The fried chicken is marinated and battered.

Cane's Sauce

The recipe for the dipping sauce is kept private by company leadership. It likely contains mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder.

Combos

Combos offered by Raising Cane's feature their chicken fingers and signature dipping sauce. Depending on the combo, they will also come with other sides such as crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw, and Texas toast.

International expansion

The chain first began expanding internationally in 2014, opening its first restaurant in Kuwait. The namesake mascot, a dog, is not seen on signage and merchandise, as dogs are not popular in Kuwait for religious reasons. The restaurant chain expanded to Dubai in 2024. In 2025, it was reported the company is planning to open stores in Mexico in 2026 with an agreement with Mexico's Alsea. https://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/raising-cane-s-plans-to-enter-mexico-in-2026

Gallery

The Mothership - Original Raising Cane's Restaurant Gallery

File:Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Cane's 1 - The Mothership, Original Cane's Restaurant Sign.jpg|The Mothership, Original Raising Cane's Restaurant Sign File:Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Cane's 1 - The Mothership, Original Cane's Restaurant Exterior and Drive-thru.jpg|The Mothership, Original Raising Cane's Restaurant and Drive-thru File:Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Cane's 1 - The Mothership, Original Cane's Restaurant Counter.jpg|The Mothership, Original Raising Cane's Restaurant Counter File:Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Cane's 1 - The Mothership, Original Cane's Restaurant Interior View.jpg|The Mothership, Original Raising Cane's Restaurant Interior File:Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, Cane's 1 - The Mothership, Original Cane's Restaurant, Wolf's Bakery Mural.jpg|The Mothership, Original Raising Cane's Restaurant - Wolf's Bakery Mural

References

References

1. "Todd Graves". Forbes.
2. (July 29, 2022). "Raising Cane's drops $100,000 on Mega Millions tickets — again". [[The Washington Post]].
3. "Who We Are: One Dream, One Love".
4. Kern, Sydney. (March 20, 2018). "Big paws to fill: training begins for Raising Cane III". [[WBRZ]].
5. Walker, Rob. (Nov 17, 2025). "How Raising Cane’s Founder Todd Graves Perfected His Formula and Built a $5 Billion Brand". Inc..
6. (September 24, 2025). "How The Raising Cane’s Founder Built A $22 Billion Chicken Finger Empire That’s Snoop Dogg’s Favorite Fast-Food Chain". Forbes.
7. Sayre, Alan. (June 12, 2007). "Finger joint beat the odds on fish turf". [[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]].
8. Olmstead, Larry. (May 30, 2018). "This fast-food chain serves one specialty". [[USA Today]].
9. "Our Philosophy".
10. "About Our Founder".
11. Lucas, Amelia. (2025-06-30). "How Raising Cane's overtook KFC to become the No. 3 chicken chain in the U.S.".
12. Leigh, Wendy. (November 6, 2025). "How A Bakery Renovation Inspired Raising Cane's Well-Known Logo".
13. "CANE'S GEAR".
14. Editor. (2025-05-20). "Let’s TOAST to our 2025 Grads! Raising Cane’s Introduces First-Ever, Limited-Edition Graduation Plush Puppies to Celebrate Graduates -".
15. Chung, Heidi. (April 30, 2020). "Raising Cane's CEO: We're not going to hurry back and reopen stores". [[Yahoo! Finance]].
16. (October 7, 2021). "Raising Cane's sending corporate staff to work in restaurants amid labor shortage".
17. (October 6, 2021). "Facing employee shortage, Raising Cane's putting corporate staff to work as fry cooks, cashiers".
18. (October 8, 2021). "Raising Cane's puts corporate staff to work as fry cooks, cashiers amid staffing shortage".
19. "Raising Cane's raises Cain over a lease that bans chicken fingers". The Washington Post.
20. (November 9, 2022). "Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers sues Indiana shopping center after being told it can't sell chicken fingers".
21. (November 10, 2022). "Raising Cane's sues shopping center over chicken finger ban".
22. "Bringing Our One Love to The Big Apple with the Global Flagship in Times Square {{!}} Raising Cane's".
23. Sandel, Macy. (2025-11-16). "The Secret Behind Why Raising Cane's Chicken Tastes So Good".
24. S, Marina. (2024-10-08). "The Savory Secret That Makes Raising Cane's Chicken Sauce Taste So Good".
25. Miller, Nicholas G.. (2025-11-18). "How America’s Hottest Chicken Chain Keeps Its Secret Sauce a Secret".
26. "Menu – Order Now {{!}} Raising Cane’s {{!}} Raising Cane's".
27. Blake, David. (February 9, 2018). "Raising Cane's goes international". [[WWL (AM).
28. Yoder, Kaci. (November 11, 2015). "First overseas Raising Cane's adapts to the Middle East".
29. (18 January 2024). "Raising Cane's secret sauce: Is Dubai's newest fried chicken restaurant worth the hype?".