Thirty years of Raising Cane’s can be summed up in a lot of numbers: 30 years, more than 1,000 restaurants, more than 100,000 Crew members and millions of Caniacs around the world. But for Todd Graves, the story still comes back to one restaurant, one dog and one very stubborn idea that chicken fingers could be enough.
On Tuesday (August 25), Graves invited some die-hard Caniacs, members of the media and Celeb Secrets to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to visit “The Mothership” — aka the first-ever Raising Cane’s — as well as his new pop-up museum next door to learn more about his unlikely entrepreneurial journey by showing artifacts, photographs and memorabilia that trace the brand from a college business plan to one of the fastest-growing restaurant brands in the country.
“This is a very, very special day for all of us at Cane’s,” Graves said during opening remarks at the event. “It’s our 30th birthday, which, it’s hard to believe, you know, 30 years go by and so much has happened in our history up to what we’re doing today.”
If you have ever wondered what was behind the chicken finger empire before the celebrity shifts, limited-edition merch, packed restaurants and international expansion, this is about as close as you can get to stepping inside Todd Graves’ brain.
The admission-free 30th Birthday Pop-Up Museum is filled with artifacts from the early days of Cane’s, including Graves’ original business plan and briefcase, the hard hat he wore while working as a boilermaker, original blueprints from “The Mothership,” the original disco ball that eventually became a signature design element in Cane’s restaurants and all 46 Plush Puppies released throughout the brand’s history. Outside, visitors can also see The Margaret Mae, the 1979 boat Graves worked aboard while commercial fishing for sockeye salmon in Alaska to help fund his restaurant dream.
For Graves, seeing all of it together was a full-circle moment — especially because most of these items were never saved with the expectation that they would one day belong in a museum.
“Oh, my God, it’s crazy,” Graves told media during the celebration. “It’s crazy to see it all in one place at one time.”
Before there was Cane’s Sauce, crinkle-cut fries, Texas Toast or a drive-thru packed with Caniacs, there was a college student in Baton Rouge who was convinced that people would want a restaurant devoted to one thing: chicken fingers. Graves grew up around food in south Louisiana, where cooking was less of a chore and more of a way to bring people together. He recalled growing up in his mother’s kitchen, making gumbo and serving food to friends and family — an experience that helped shape his love for restaurants.
“I just love, love food,” Graves said. “I grew up working in my mom’s kitchen, you know, cooking with her and us making a gumbo. You know, gumbo takes all day, but it really shouldn’t, but you take all day ’cause you’re spending time together.”
His first business plan was called “Folly’s Fingers of LSU,” and it was, according to Graves, essentially his “bible on chicken fingers.” He had researched everything from the food itself to the cost of getting the restaurant’s aprons cleaned.
There was just one problem though… his professor didn’t think the concept would work. The plan received a B-, which, according to Graves, was the worst grade in the class, because the professor believed a restaurant serving primarily chicken fingers wouldn’t succeed in South Louisiana. At the time, quick-service restaurants were expanding their menus, adding more options to appeal to as many customers as possible.
Graves saw the criticism differently. Rather than abandon his idea, he used every “no” as motivation.
“So I said, ‘You know what? I’m gonna prove you wrong. I’m gonna make this thing work,’” Graves recalled.
That mentality followed him straight to the bank — and eventually all the way to Alaska — to commercial fish for sockeye salmon just to make it happen.
“It’s an unbelievable amount of pride I have for our whole organization,” Graves told media onsite. “I’m just prideful that in every aspect of the business, I have people that are better than me at it. I just keep everything together, keep moving forward, and keep the culture and values that have always been there. What I’m really looking forward to is the next 30 years to be able to do things on a much bigger scale.”
During the event, Celeb Secrets asked Graves about his goal of making Raising Cane’s one of the top 10 restaurant brands in the United States and what it will take to get there. His answer? Keep doing what Cane’s is already doing — just do it really well.
“If we keep doing our plan like we’re doing, so we’re opening about 100 a year right now, and that’s where we feel comfortable operating exceptional restaurants,” Graves told Celeb Secrets. “For us, keep doing what we’re doing now, we could hit this goal at top 10. We could hit it at the end of the decade or early next decade… It’d be exciting. And so it’s just setting goals too is fun for everybody and gives you something to drive for, too.”
International expansion is already underway, with Cane’s preparing to open its first restaurant in the United Kingdom at Piccadilly Circus in London and expanding into Mexico beginning in Monterrey before moving into Mexico City. Graves said the U.K. is currently the brand’s number one request through its information mailbox and direct messages.
But don’t expect Cane’s to suddenly become a completely different brand just because it is going global.
“We’re gonna go in, do franchise in Mexico,” Graves explained, while noting that the company operates restaurants itself wherever possible to maintain its values and culture.
For Graves, that culture comes down to the people.
He still keeps in touch with members of the original Cane’s Crew, including one employee who took the first dollar from the restaurant’s opening night. He plans to bring members of that original team back to Baton Rouge for a roundtable with current managers so they can share what those earliest days were actually like.
“That’s just about lasting bonds and relationships,” Graves said.
And when asked what ultimately shaped his mindset after three decades in business, Graves didn’t point to a business book, a billion-dollar deal or a perfectly executed expansion strategy. He pointed back to the beginning.
“My main thing that I think affected my life was appreciation,” he said. “Understanding how hard people work. Be kind, be kind, be kind.”
The Raising Cane’s 30th Birthday Pop-Up Museum, located at 132 E. State Street in Baton Rouge, is open to the public free of charge from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays through Sept. 24. The downstairs exhibit is self-guided, while Graves’ restored Apartment No. 4 is available through guided tours. For those who can’t make it IRL, check out our sneak peek inside both “The Mothership” and the Pop-Up Museum in the clip below.
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