One menu item, huge growth: How Raising Cane’s spread across the Twin Cities

Cars snaked around the Raising Cane’s franchise in Apple Valley on a recent Thursday night, the drive-thru line at times spilling out onto a side street. Inside, where teens and young families devoured chicken finger meals, the walls are hung with sports gear from local high schools.

That taste of local flair, which includes a piece of turf from the long-gone Metrodome, might help explain how a national chain restaurant with hundreds of outposts has taken off in Minnesota despite serving one — and only one — main dish: chicken fingers. The state now has 17 Raising Cane’s locations, seven of which have opened since 2021.

“We come in here a lot,” said Brayden Luther, a student at Apple Valley High School, during a recent visit. “The combination of flavors, especially with the Cane’s sauce, gets me excited to eat it every time.” His brother, Alejandro Luther, said it’s become a popular destination after field trips and football games. The crowds “get ridiculous sometimes,” he said.

The Apple Valley location was Minnesota’s first, opening in 2007. It’s been so popular that the city had to deal with traffic problems caused by massive lines at its drive-thru, according to public works director Matt Saam.

With more than 800 locations nationwide, Raising Cane’s keeps growing, tripling the number of its locations nationwide since 2015. It boasts the third-highest average sales per location among fast food joints, more than competitors like McDonald’s and Whataburger, according to a Restaurant Business Magazine report. An S&P Global Ratings report from early September noted that Cane’s revenue in the first half of 2024 grew 33% compared to the previous year.

The Cane’s chain’s popularity still pales in comparison to chicken sandwich behemoth Chick-fil-A, which averages more sales per location than Cane’s despite being open only six days a week. But, in an era of challenges facing the restaurant industry, as once-dominant national chains like TGI Fridays and Red Lobster file for bankruptcy, a few trends have helped propel Cane’s success.

Founder Todd Graves opened the first Cane’s restaurant in 1996 in Baton Rouge, La., naming it after his yellow lab Raising Cane (whose picture graces every restaurant). Since then, the restaurant’s focused menu has emphasized quality over quantity, which helps keep costs down, according to University of Minnesota marketing professor Corey Nelson.

The tight menu reflects a growing trend of specialization in fast food, according to Jonathan Maze, editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business Magazine.

“The restaurant business is really going towards more specialty and less ‘do everything,’” he said. “When you want to go out to eat these days, you say, ‘I want chicken fingers’ … not ‘let’s figure it out when we get there.’”

It helps that consumers prefer chicken over beef, according to Maze.

“Why? I think there’s a perception of health, even though what Raising Cane’s is selling is not remotely healthy,” he said.

Healthy or not, Cane’s makes its meals fast, in about 2 minutes and 30 seconds, according to Gig McGrath, who oversees multiple locations in Minnesota.

“It’s perfect because we love it and the kids love it,” said Tania Maddalena-Gill at the Apple Valley location.

Her husband, Marcus, works as a chef and is impressed with the chicken at Cane’s.

“They use chicken tenderloin, and they don’t freeze it, either, so you can really taste the difference,” he said.

Gen Z, especially, has flocked to Cane’s.

University of Minnesota student Matt Sekoa took his friends to the Stadium Village Cane’s after Gopher football’s homecoming win over Maryland. It’s one of two locations near the U.

But simplicity can be a downfall for some customers. U student Maks Washchuk said Cane’s “gets worse every time you go there.”

Even so, Cane’s was rated the fifth-favorite restaurant chain among teens, according to a 2023 Piper Sandler survey.

“We see a lot of the younger generations in our restaurants,” said regional vice president Kevin Ryan. “I think younger consumers really value authenticity and simplicity, and I think Cane’s is exactly that.”

Cane’s also appeals to Gen Z through its marketing strategies, including partnering with influencers to do one-off “shifts” at a location while photos and videos get posted to social media.

Comedians Druski and Theo Von, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have all worked shifts to promote Cane’s.

“[That young demographic] is everything,” said Nelson. “In today’s world, it’s all about convenience … and Cane’s offers that.”