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From Failure to Fortune: The Story of a Chicken Finger Empire

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA,Sunday, October 6, 2024

Todd Graves and Craig Silvey had a simple idea: open a restaurant in Louisiana that only sold chicken fingers. They didn't expect the low grades and rejections that followed. But their persistence paid off. Today, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers is a global success story.

Graves moved to California and worked long hours in an oil refinery to save money. He also fished for salmon in Alaska. In total, he spent around $150,000 of his own savings and loans from friends, family, and the Small Business Administration to start his restaurant. The first Raising Cane's location opened in 1996. Named after Graves’ yellow lab, the chain now has over 800 locations worldwide. It made $3.7 billion last year alone. Graves owns more than 90 percent of the company and plans to keep it that way for his kids' future.

small business administration alaska california louisiana craig silvey todd graves

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