Whether or not you've been to a Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers,
you've probably heard of the fast-growing chain, their tasty chicken,
and their much-loved sauce. But no matter how many times you've feasted on their offerings,
you probably don't know everything you need to know about the chain.
In the mid-nineties, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers founder Todd Graves and a small crew
set to work on constructing the restaurant's first location. They found the ideal building
on Highland Road in Baton Rouge: a former bakery at the entrance to Louisiana State University.
During the reconstruction, the crew reportedly found an old mural of the bakery's logo,
which subsequently inspired the Raising Cane's logo. That's why every location prominently
features the restaurant's logo as if it's poking out from behind a crumbling brick wall.
"My vision for this restaurant Raising Cane's was just one location at the north gates of LSU."
The first location opened on August 28th, 1996, and it was immediately a huge hit.
Now that Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers has more than 500 locations worldwide,
the original site is referred to as The Mothership, meaning,
"[The Highland Road location is the] founding ship of the fleet of Raising Cane's."
These days, The Mothership is something of a tourist draw in Louisiana's capital city.
In fact, it's even listed as an attraction on the Visit Baton Rouge website.
In the very early days, the company was leaning towards a rather unusual moniker:
Sockeye's Chicken Fingers. And there's a reason for that. You see, to raise capital for the first
Raising Cane's location, founder Todd Graves worked a series of hands-on, blue-collar jobs.
According to Raising Cane's official website, Graves worked 90-hour weeks as a boilermaker
in a refinery, which was followed by a temporary move to Alaska, where he spent
20 hours a day fishing commercially for sockeye salmon. After earning enough money,
Graves returned to Louisiana and got an SBA loan to start the restaurant.
The eatery was going to be called Sockeye's Chicken Fingers,
named after the type of salmon he'd been working with for quite some time. Ultimately, a friend
spoke up and convinced him to name the joint after his dog, Raising Cane. The rest is history.
“Why do we do all this?
Because it makes a difference. Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers. One Love."
"Woof woof."
Since the beginning, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers has specialized in one thing.
You guessed it, you genius: chicken fingers!
"The delicious taste of those fresh,
never-frozen chicken fingers… along with that amazing Cane's sauce."
At first, this was a tough concept for some folks to get behind…
particularly since this was in the land of Cajun cuisine and Popeyes Louisiana
Kitchen. Even Todd Graves thought that only college kids would ever eat his food.
Soon enough, a wave of passionate poultry fans emerged and fell in love
with Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers. The marinated chicken breast tenderloins are
hand-battered by staff - also known as "Bird Specialists" - and then fried in canola oil.
The franchise has won numerous awards, including "Best Chicken Tenders" from The Fasties,
the fast-food awards show launched by Thrillist in 2020. Raising Cane's was also recognized as having
the "Most Loyal Guests" in the fast-casual segment in Technomic's 2018 Consumers' Choice Awards.
But those award-winning fingers certainly didn't do it alone: crinkle fries, coleslaw,
and Texas Toast are all popular menu items, and that's to say nothing of Cane's Sauce.
Raising Cane's scored another award at Thrillist's inaugural fast food-ranking event. The creamy,
coral-colored Cane's Sauce took home the bronze from the "Best Dipping Sauce" category.
"What's in the sauce?"
"Sorry man, can't tell you that. It's our secret."
So what exactly is in Cane's Sauce?
Well, apparently only general managers know the ingredients, those withholding creeps.
But not to worry. Cane's Sauce seems pretty easy to make,
or at least an approximation of it. There are copycat recipes of the special sauce all over
the internet. Raising Cane's website describes the sauce as being tangy with a touch of heat.
No wonder most recipes call for the same five ingredients:
mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and garlic salt. There are passionate
online debates about switching out the garlic salt for garlic powder, so why not try both?
In the end, your DIY Cane's Sauce should look pink and peppery,
as if you just scored a cup at the drive-thru.
These days, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers has locations all over the world. In 2015, the first
international location opened in Kuwait City. Before opening in the capital city of Kuwait,
founder Todd Graves and his team spent a good amount of time sourcing products
and ensuring that everything on the menu was halal friendly. That means the food,
as well as its handling, preparation, and storage, is in compliance with Islamic law.
Following the success of the Kuwait location, Raising Cane's locations
began sprouting up in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
In a 2018 interview, University of New Orleans Professor Dubb Lane commented
on Raising Cane's popularity in the Middle East, saying:
"Remember they can't eat pork and so chicken and beef becomes more interesting to them,
I think chicken in particular is more attractive in that part of the world."
It seems that all over the world,
people really want a taste of this chicken… and who can blame them?
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