Raising Cane’s is ready and able to continue a nationwide expansion as the restaurant chain marks its 10 year anniversary.
This past week, Todd Graves celebrated the tenth anniversary of his first restaurant, which opened just outside the University’s North Gates on Highland Road in 1996.
“It’s still one of our most popular restaurants in the entire company,” said Kathleen Wood, Raising Cane’s president and chief operating officer.
Wood said Raising Cane’s has come a long way since it first opened. Today the company employs more than 2,000 people at 48 restaurants in 10 states.
“With our growth rate, we’ll be in 12 states before the end of the year,” she said. “Our vision is to eventually have locations all over the world.”
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita closed 28 restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas for more than six months. Wood said the company and its employees were eager to do what they could to revive the stateand facilitate a quick reopening.
Raising Cane’s played an active role in raising money for the areas affected by the hurricanes. The company donated $5,000 to theHurricane Student Relief Fund in February and developed the Cane’s Crew Fund, a program in which employees gave portions of their paychecks to hurricane relief programs.
“We really believe at the company in supporting our crew and community, and while the hurricane was going on, we wanted to continue to provide that support,” Wood said. “The things that we’ve done tosupport our community are just a continuation of our interest.”
Wood said the quality of the chicken and the atmosphere have popularized Raising Cane’s. She said the company does not consideritself part of the fast food industry because of the unique character of its venues.
“They’re quick, quality restaurants,” she said. “What separates us is our culture and crew.”
General studies senior Jennifer Vitter said she likes Raising Cane’s because of its convenient locations and late night hours.
“The food is always hot and fresh and made to order,” Vitter said.
Wood said the company tries to designate each restaurant with a different atmosphere that corresponds to its local community.
“They all look like Cane’s on the outside, but they’re all unique to the community they operate in,” she said.
Wood said she was excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Raising Cane’s on Monday. She said the company is grateful for the University’s support and hopes to develop this relationship further.
“Todd is a lifelong LSU fan,” she said. “Todd could’ve opened restaurants anywhere in the United States, but he wanted to bring Cane’s to LSU. As a company, we never want to forget where we started.”
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]