The story of Todd Graves and Raising Cane’s is the kind of American success story the left pretends to admire but rarely celebrates: a scrappy entrepreneur laughed out of classrooms and banks who turned a stubborn, narrow idea into a national powerhouse. Forbes recently revisited that rise, showing how a simple menu and hard work built a company millions of Americans love and millions more dollars in revenue.
Raising Cane’s sold more than $5 billion worth of chicken in 2024 and has ballooned to roughly nine hundred restaurants across the country, numbers that would make many seasoned investors jealous. That explosive growth didn’t come from fancy consultants or government subsidies, it came from a clear product, efficient operations, and thousands of employees showing up every day to serve customers.
What conservatives should applaud is how Graves achieved it: rejected by professors and denied bank loans, he worked 90-hour weeks in an oil refinery and fished for salmon in Alaska to save the seed money that launched his first store. That grit — private risk, personal sacrifice, and the hustle that follows from owning your destiny — is the inverse of today’s entitlement culture and the antidote to elites who tell young people success is impossible without state help.
Graves kept the menu intentionally tiny — chicken fingers, fries, slaw, toast and one sauce — and that focus is a masterclass in specialization and competitive advantage. In a moment when corporate America is distracted by virtue signaling and mission statements, Rising Cane’s proves customers still reward quality, consistency, and value over performative politics.
Ownership matters. Graves retained overwhelming control of the company as it scaled, reaping the rewards and staying true to the brand instead of ceding it to faceless public markets or activist agendas. That private ownership model allowed Raising Cane’s to move fast, protect its culture, and keep its promise to customers — exactly the kind of business freedom conservatives argue keeps markets vibrant and responsive.
There are lessons here for policymakers and citizens alike: reduce the chokeholds that make capital scarce for the determined, stop elevating credentialed naysayers who confuse risk for stupidity, and remember that real wealth is created by serving real customers. If Washington is serious about restoring opportunity, it should study stories like Graves’s rather than weaponize envy against entrepreneurs.
Finally, let’s be blunt: the left wants to vilify success and tax away the engines that create jobs. But when a Louisiana kid with a dog’s name for a restaurant outworks the doubters and builds a beloved national brand, it proves the American experiment still works when government stays small and people are free to try. That is something every hardworking patriot should celebrate and defend.
