Games were among the many activities at Raising Cane's grand opening in Boynton Beach. [Photo by Raising Cane's]
Raising Cane’s, the chain that specializes in marinated, hand-battered chicken fingers, opened its first Palm Beach County location May 2 in Boynton Beach at 1550 West Boynton Beach Blvd. and has a second opening May 23 in Royal Palm Beach.
“It was a very strong opening in Boynton Beach,” the franchise said in an emailed statement. “Our customer count for the day was 4,948. We anticipate our Boynton Beach location is going to be a high-volume restaurant.”
People waiting in line to order at Raising Cane's opening day in Boynton Beach. [Photo by Raising Cane's]
To say that Raising Cane’s specializes in chicken fingers is an understatement. Outside of a sandwich option, Texas toast, drinks, and accompanying crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw and secret-recipe Cane’s Sauce, the franchise features only chicken fingers on its menu across more than 700 locations in most U.S. states and Guam.
The chain now has a loyal fan base called Caniacs, but anyone who thinks the idea of a chicken fingers establishment is too limited wouldn’t have been alone 30 years ago.
That’s when founder, CEO and Louisiana native Todd Graves open his flagship location at the north gates of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Raising Cane’s, named for his beloved Labrador retriever Raising Cane (1992-1998), became a dream realized Aug. 28, 1996. Subsequent yellow Lab mascots Cane II (1999-2016) and Cane III (born in 2017) have carried on that legacy.
As the franchise eclipsed 600 locations last year and 700 this year, Glassdoor named it one of the Best Places to Work and ranked Graves 28th among the Top 100 CEOs in the U.S. Forbes featured Raising Cane’s on its list of America’s Best Large Employers.
Graves has worked hard to achieve his goals, but he also has pledged to give back and pay it forward. When COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry, he created a docuseries, “Restaurant Recovery,” for Discovery+, in which he traveled to 10 independent establishments across the country to assist the owners.
