Raising Cane’s has long leaned on Co-CEO Todd Graves’ celebrity friends to help market the brand. Now the chicken-finger chain is preparing to open a landmark restaurant in the heart of the entertainment industry.
The fast-casual chain was scheduled to open its 1,000th unit on Thursday on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, next to the famous TCL (Grauman’s) Chinese Theater and Madam Tussauds wax museum. The opening was delayed, but officials say it's coming very soon.
Graves, of course, is no Hollywood novice. He’s a screen star in his own right with various shows, and the brand has been growing in the LA market for a few years.
But reaching unit 1,000 is significant as the company-owned chain pushes to reach 1,600 units domestically. Graves wants Raising Cane’s to be a Top 10 restaurant chain by the end of the decade, and, at this pace, that may in sight.
In fiscal 2024, Raising Cane’s ranked No. 18 on the Technomic Top 500 restaurant chains list, with close to $5 billion in sales with 828 units.
That year, Cane’s bolted past longtime rival KFC ($4.9 billion), in terms of sales. But most in the Top 10 tier also include chains with sales in the double-digit billions.
Raising Cane’s, meanwhile, has long been striving to make a splash with flagship restaurants, often in high-volume locations, and this is yet another.
The brand opened on New York’s Times Square in 2023 with an 8,000-square-foot restaurant, for example. Rapper/singer/songwriter Post Malone designed a very pink location in Utah, near his home. There’s the shiny gold one in Boston.
And, in Los Angeles, Cane’s wanted to convert the iconic Googie diner that is home to Norms into a Raising Cane’s (the brand acquired the building for $16 million). But public pushback put that plan on hold.
The 1,000th location in Hollywood, however, brings the brand to a tourist hotspot, a neighborhood known for the annual Academy Awards ceremony (at the Dolby Theater) and the Walk of Fame where celebrities are immortalized by hand- and footprints in the sidewalk.
This Cane’s location is two stories and features massive LED screens, as well as a 7-foot golden Cane III (the dog) statue on the balcony, and the expected One Love tagline in lights (using, of course,1,000 bulbs). The opening is expected to include a red carpet.
Nine more Raising Canes are scheduled to open in the Los Angeles area this year, including units near SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Westwood Village (near UCLA), and Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade—all of which are expected to open before the 2026 World Cup begins. Between 2027 and 2028, another eight LA-area locations are in development.
Systemwide, the chain expects to add 100 restaurants this year alone as it continues a push to reach the 1,600 goal. Raising Cane’s is also bringing its chicken fingers to London and Mexico.
It has become somewhat of an Oscars tradition to see Academy Award-toting stars appear at the In-N-Out in Hollywood after the award ceremony.
Next year, perhaps the paparazzi and other star-hunters should stake out Raising Cane’s.
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