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Case study · Raising Cane’s

How Raising Cane’s grew from a rejected college business plan to more than 900 restaurants

TL;DR

Todd Graves wrote a business plan for a chicken finger restaurant at LSU and heard from his professor and every bank that it would not work. He worked as a boilermaker and a commercial fisherman to save money, got an SBA loan, and opened near campus in 1996. The lesson: a tight menu and a stubborn founder can win even when advisers say no.

How it started

Todd Graves and Craig Silvey wrote the business plan for a restaurant serving chicken fingers while they were studying at different universities. Silvey submitted it for a business plan course and received a B-minus. Graves has said his professor believed such a restaurant would not work in South Louisiana.

Banks agreed. Graves took the plan to numerous bankers and they all turned it down. To raise money himself, he worked in California as a boilermaker at an oil refinery, pulling 90-hour weeks, and then spent time in Alaska fishing for sockeye salmon. He had worked at Guthrie’s Chicken Fingers before starting his own concept.

He returned to Louisiana and, with an SBA loan, opened the first restaurant. He originally planned to call it Sockeye’s Chicken Fingers, but a friend suggested a more personal name, and it became Raising Cane’s, after his dog.

How they got the first customers

The first restaurant, nicknamed The Mothership, opened on August 28, 1996 in a former bakery near the LSU entrance in Baton Rouge. Location was the first-customer strategy: the target market was students and neighbors within walking distance.

Customers came in right away on opening day. The restaurant stayed open until 3:30 a.m. that day and kept serving late for several days afterward, which was a good fit for a campus crowd.

What drove growth

Silvey sold his share of the partnership shortly after the second restaurant opened, leaving Graves as sole CEO. AJ Kumaran joined as chief operating officer in 2014 and later became co-CEO with Graves.

Raising Cane’s opened its first international restaurant in Kuwait in 2014 and, according to Wikipedia, had more than 900 locations in 2025. The menu still centers on chicken fingers, with a short list of sides, Cane’s Sauce and Texas toast.

For a small founder, the growth path is a reminder of the value of a simple menu, strong location choices near a built-in crowd, and years of repetition before scaling.

Lessons you can copy

  1. 1A narrow menu is easier to do wellChicken fingers were the focus from the first plan. Fewer items mean faster training, simpler purchasing and a clear reputation.
  2. 2Open where your first customers already areThe first restaurant sat next to a major university gate. A crowd that is already nearby needs no convincing to try you.
  3. 3Fund the dream yourself if lenders say noGraves took hard physical jobs to build savings. Founder-funded capital also makes later lenders more willing to say yes.
  4. 4Use a personal brand nameA friend talked him out of Sockeye’s Chicken Fingers. A name with a story is easier to remember.
  5. 5Match hours to your customerStaying open late fit student habits. Look for the hours your best customers actually want.

Frequently asked questions

How did Todd Graves fund the first Raising Cane’s?

After banks rejected the plan, he saved money working as a boilermaker at a California oil refinery and fishing in Alaska, then used an SBA loan to open the first restaurant in 1996.

Where was the first Raising Cane’s?

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, near the LSU campus, in a former bakery. It is nicknamed The Mothership.

Why is it called Raising Cane’s?

It is named after Graves’s dog, Cane. He had first planned to call the restaurant Sockeye’s Chicken Fingers.

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