The Incredible Story

Meet the People

Learn about Todd

It began as a college dream. A vision of a restaurant that served the highest quality, freshest chicken fingers meals – and nothing else. From this vision, Todd Graves created a business plan, which, ironically, earned him the lowest grade in the class. The professor said a restaurant serving only chicken fingers would never work!

Undaunted, the young entrepreneur, wearing a cheap suit and carrying a briefcase adorning brass combination locks, presented his business plan to any banker that would see him. Graves received the same negative response about his concept and even had some bankers tell him he should give up this idea and “get a real job”. Graves knew he would need to raise his own capital to achieve his dream and this journey took him to working as a boilermaker in oil refineries to a trek that led him to Alaska, raising his own seed money in the highly-risky trade of commercial salmon fishing. Upon his return, he reconstructed an old building with his own hands into the first Raising Cane’s^® restaurant. In a moment of inspiration, he even named the restaurant after his yellow lab… Raising Cane.

And in a short twelve years, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers® has grown from a single location near the campus of LSU to over 80 locations by November 2008 (and counting!) in over 13 states. Raising Cane’s^® now ranks as of one of the fastest growing privately owned companies in the U.S.

The fun surroundings, friendly crew, and rather offbeat managerial style are all part of the Cane's culture and experience. And, combined with an uncompromising dedication to quality, Graves and his company have earned countless industry awards and accolades.

Graves entrepreneurial spirit has been recognized in Nations Restaurant News, Chain Leader, Entrepreneur, Rolling Stone, and Teen People magazines. He appeared live on Fox News Network’s “Your World” with host Neil Cavuto and was highlighted on CNN Headline News’ “Pulse on America” series. Graves was also featured in Entrepreneur’s Young Millionaires cover story. In 2008 Graves was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year regional winner in the Consumer Products division.

As a result of Graves and his team’s passion and commitment, Raising Cane’s^® has been recognized numerous times by industry leaders and pace setters. Raising Cane’s^® was honored as an “Emerging Concept” at the Elliot Conference in New York (2002) and was chosen as a 2003 Hot Concepts! award winner by Nation’s Restaurant News. Graves and Raising Cane’s^® received the National Restaurant Association’s Good Neighbor Award in 2006, and were recognized as one of the top 100 movers and shakers by Fast Casual magazine. That same year, Raising Cane’s^® ranked 335 in Restaurants and Institutions’ “Top 400 Restaurant Chains” list (climbed to 267 in 2007), and was second on Restaurant Business magazine’s list of “The Future 50.” Graves and Raising Cane’s^® are most proud of the “Best Places to Work” recognition in Chain Leader magazine’s 2007 Best of Issue. Raising Cane’s^® was named to Inc. Magazine’s top 5,000 list of fastest growing privately owned companies. Raising Cane’s^® earned the 1,048th spot among all companies and is ranked 15th in growth in the food and beverage industry, and second overall in the state of Louisiana. Most recently, Franchise Times named Raising Cane’s^® to its Top 200 Up & Comers. Graves has been recognized by the Baton Rouge Business Report and Junior Achievement as the “Young Business Person of the Year” for 2002 and was the recipient of Baton Rouge Business Reports “Top 40 Under 40” award in 2000.

Equally uncompromising is Graves' dedication to his community, and his commitment to give back to the people who have given so much to him. He carries his tremendous success in business over to a wide array of philanthropic endeavors. As an active community partner, Graves and Raising Cane’s^® has given over twenty-five percent of what Raising Cane’s^® makes back into the communities where Raising Cane’s^® restaurant locations operate with emphasis on schools, food banks, active lifestyles, business and entrepreneur organizations and cane-nine assistance.

Raising Cane’s^® annual giving includes:

• Education: supporting over 150 educational institutions including, colleges and universities, community colleges, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools through athletics programs, teachers appreciation, student organizations and academics;
• Feeding the Hungry: organizing massive food drives, “Raising Cans with Raising Cane’s^®” and making significant donations to over 25 food banks.
• Active Lifestyles: supporting over 100 events that promote active lifestyle including community races, walks, sport leagues and tournaments;
• Business & Entrepreneurial Organizations: being actively involved in over 75 professional organizations including, chambers of commerce, young professional organizations, Junior Achievement, visitors’ bureaus, and city development organizations;
• Cane-9 Assistance: working with more than 25 humane societies through support and sponsorship of their events, financially sponsoring dog parks, and Raising Cane II makes weekly visits to Children’s’ Hospitals and nursing homes;

In 2007, Graves built a relationship with the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge sponsoring the flagship community dog park within the Brooks Community City Park and now serves on their Board of Directors as a catalyst for future development. Graves has also made significant gift commitments to Louisiana State University to support the building of a $2.2M habitat for LSU’s Mike the Tiger and other programs.

Graves is an involved member of many national and local organizations including the National Restaurant Association, Young Presidents Organization, Share our Strength, and United Way where he currently serves as a member of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society. Graves is also on the board of the BREC Foundation Board, past Forum 35 Board Member, large donor for BR Area Chamber Plan BR campaign and a large contributor to Louisiana State University and Southern University. Graves regularly guest lectures at Universities and High School classes on entrepreneurship, leadership and active community involvement.

Graves wife Gwen, sold her McDonald’s franchise to spend more time focused on their children and the community. In addition to helping Todd with the many Raising Cane’s^® community endeavors, Gwen visits children’s hospitals on a weekly visit with Raising Cane II, a certified pet therapy dog.

The Graves’ reside in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with their two children and enjoy spending time with their faithful dog Raising Cane II.