Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers
Following his graduation from Georgia in 1995, Graves returned home to turn his dream into a reality. Boneless chicken was becoming increasingly popular [6] and Graves wanted to focus on doing one thing and doing it better than anyone else.
In search of a partner to help open this restaurant, Graves reached out to childhood friend Craig Silvey. In the months that followed, Graves did all he could to learn about running a business. He read business books, attended Southern University’s Small Business Development Center and SCORE seminars, and spoke with a variety of businesspeople. All that was left was to put pen to paper.
Silvey, who was attending LSU at the time, was enrolled in a business management class and was tasked with the assignment to submit a business plan. Graves helped Silvey develop a business plan for their vision – “Folly’s Fingers of LSU” – which received the lowest grade in the class. The professor noted that a restaurant serving only chicken fingers in southern Louisiana, which was known for its Cajun food, would never work and pointed out that the industry was trending toward variety and salad and grilled options. The “veto vote” would inherently rule out any restaurant focused solely on chicken fingers. [7]
Undeterred, Graves and Silvey set out to make their dream a reality and began visiting every bank in town to secure a loan. The duo was again met with skepticism over their concept and even their lack of experience. Potential investors stated they needed to get “real” jobs and that their idea would never work. Following rejection after rejection, Graves and Silvey were more motivated than ever to prove that a concept selling only chicken fingers would work and Graves decided to raise the money himself. [8]
Graves then set out for Los Angeles to work 90-hour weeks as a boilermaker at the Chevron refinery in El Segundo. Fellow boilermakers gave him the nickname “Hollywood” and were the first to believe in him and his plan. It was during his time at the refinery that he met Wild Bill Tolar, who tipped him off to the idea of commercial fishing in Alaska. Tolar said it was incredibly dangerous work and long hours but paid well. From there, Graves flew to Alaska and proceeded to hitchhike to Naknek and camp on the frozen Tundra surviving on Pork-N-Beans. After a month, Graves successfully convinced the captain to give him a job as a commercial sockeye salmon fisherman. Tolar was right – the work was hard and dangerous, with peak season consisting of 20-hour days. During his time with the boat crew, Graves would cook for them and tell them about his plans of opening a restaurant. Following his ventures in LA and Alaska, Graves took short jobs in Denver and Hawaii at a refinery before returning home to Baton Rouge with $50,000 and a dream that was more alive than ever. [9]
Graves knew he couldn’t open a restaurant with $50,000 so he still needed to find investors, but this time they listened. He raised $90,000 of subordinated debt, which included small investments from some friends he met during his time as a boilermaker. He also secured an SBA loan from Source Capital for an additional $50,000. [10]
Graves deviated from his original business plan and considered naming the restaurant “Sockeye’s” after the sockeye salmon he caught to raise funds to open the restaurant’s doors, but decided to name it after his beloved yellow Labrador Retriever, Raising Cane, who often frequented the job site as the restaurant was being built. To this day, Cane serves as the mascot of all the restaurants and can be seen in a variety of pictures and marketing materials. The current mascot, Cane III, resides with Graves in Baton Rouge. [11]
Graves officially opened the first Raising Cane's location, also known as “The Mothership,” across from the North Gates of Louisiana State University on August 28, 1996. The doors to his restaurant dreams didn’t open until 9:30 p.m. that night as he waited until he was able to get the cash register up and running to officially begin business. [12] In the days and years that followed, Graves was constantly at the restaurant and would leave his apartment window open at night so he could hear first-hand if the restaurant was getting busy and promptly head down to help out his crew. Looking to pursue a career outside of the restaurant industry, Silvey left the business in 1999 on the heels of opening the second location. [13]
Today, Raising Cane’s is one of the fastest-growing Restaurant Brands, with 900+ Restaurants in 40+ states, and plans to open more than 100 new Restaurants across several new markets in 2025. The company recently announced plans to be one of the top 10 Restaurant Brands in the United States and is known for its ONE LOVE® – Craveable Chicken Finger Meals® – which includes the iconic “Cane’s Sauce®” – named the #1 most craveable sauce in the Restaurant industry and most craveable chicken.
Shark Tank
In 2024, Graves joined ABC's Shark Tank for season 16 as a "Guest Shark," appearing in certain episodes alongside other judges including Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, and Daniel Lubetzky.
Of his appearance on the show, Graves said, "As a long-time viewer and fan of the show, I'm excited to bring my restaurant and business experience to entrepreneurs and help guide them as they build their brands. At my core, I love business and helping people succeed; and at the end of the day, it’s not about what you make, it's about what you give. I know how it feels when someone takes a chance on you and it changes your life, and I’m looking forward to doing that on the show." [14]
