Raising Cane's Restaurants, LLC, doing business as Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers (commonly referred to as Raising Cane's or Cane's), is an American fast casualchain specializing in chicken fingers founded in 1996 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by Todd Graves and Craig Silvey. The company is named after Graves's dog, a yellow Labrador. Other yellow Labradors have served as company mascots, as well as certified therapy animals.[4] As of 2025, Raising Cane's is ranked third in annual sales for quick-serve chicken chains, behind Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.[5]
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.[6] At the time, Graves worked at Guthrie's Chicken Fingers.[7]
The business plan was rejected numerous times by potential investors, so Graves and Silvey earned the needed money working various manual labor jobs.[7] 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.[8][9][10] Silvey sold his share of the partnership shortly after the second restaurant opened.[7]
Leadership
Graves was the sole CEO of Raising Cane's after Silvey sold his share of the partnership.[7] 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.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13]
In 2021, in response to a shortage of workers at the time, the company began dispatching hundreds[14] 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.[15] The company's co-CEO said that the corporate employees are trained in the kitchen and on the register under normal circumstances.[16]
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.[17][18][19]
The dipping sauce likely contains mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and garlic powder.[21][22]
International expansion
The chain first began expanding internationally in 2014, opening its first restaurant in Kuwait.[23] The namesake mascot, a dog, is not seen on signage and merchandise, as dogs are not popular in Kuwait for religious reasons.[24] The restaurant chain expanded to Dubai in 2024.[25]
References
↑"Who We Are: One Dream, One Love". Raising Cane's. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023. Opening Day: After finally getting the cash registers to work, Raising Cane's opened on August 28th, 1996.
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US$5.1 billion [2] 
