Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Raising Cane's
- Raising Cane's is a chicken-finger spot that's grown to be the 16th-biggest restaurant chain in America.
- It's wildly popular in some parts of the US, but mostly unknown in others.
- I make the case for Cane's continuing on its path to US domination.
I knew I had to try Raising Cane's because, whenever I'd see my friend who lived in New Orleans, it's all he'd ever talk about.
"The sauce, man. You gotta try the sauce," he'd repeat. I began to wonder if they were paying him.
But then I had Cane's and I understood. They immediately offered some of the best and most addictive fast-food flavors I'd ever tasted. It was the darn sauce. Completely unbeatable.
This word-of-mouth success story was not unique. All across large swaths of America, people are falling in love with Cane's, and it's made the company — which is still privately held — the 16th-biggest US restaurant chain. It's already the 3rd-most-popular chicken restaurant, trailing just Chick-fil-A and Popeyes, according to data compiled by QSR Magazine.
But — depending on where you live — it's still entirely possible that you don't know what Cane's is. It's still fairly regionalized, with no locations along the East coast, or in the Pacific northwest. That's probably about to change.
Aside from the sauce, here's what makes Cane's stand out:
Kaitlyn Morris/Getty Images for Raising Cane's
Todd Graves is worth $22 billion, making him the world's wealthiest restaurateur. That figure is that high because Graves owns 90% of Canes' more than 800 stores. He's flirted with franchising, but ultimately bought a bunch of locations back because he wanted close control.
Other fast-growing restaurants, like Jersey Mike's and chicken competitor Zaxby's, have taken outside investment from the likes of Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, diluting ownership.
Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Raising Cane's
Cane's only serves five items: chicken fingers, crinkle fries, coleslaw, Texas toast, and one kind of dipping sauce. This simple design earned Graves a B- in a college class at LSU, but he kept his vision.
The minimal variety makes the Cane's drive-thru fast. At just 2.5 minutes, it's 40% quicker than McDonald's and three times quicker than KFC, on average.
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for Raising Cane's
Rather than run expensive national commercials, Cane's is busy partnering with all sorts of celebrities and athletes.
Snoop Dogg considers it his favorite chicken place. A day after Florida won the NCAA basketball title, its players were working the drive-thru at a Gainesville location, mugging for photos. For a certain subset of consumers, especially college students, Cane's is everywhere.
The upside stat
But, above all else, there are two stats that — when viewed in tandem — make the ultimate bullish case for Cane's:
- It only has about 800 stores, which is by far the lowest out of the top 25 highest-grossing US chains
- It has the 2nd-highest average sales per store out of the top 50, trailing just Chick-fil-A. Talk about elite company.
This signals huge pent-up demand for more stores… and more sauce for everyone.