Raising Cane's owner and founder Todd Graves celebrates the brand's 30th birthday and unveils a new pop-up museum near "The Mothership" restaurant in Baton Rouge. Photos courtesy Raising Cane's
Raising Cane’s celebrates 30 years with pop-up museum near “The Mothership” in Baton Rouge
Founder and owner Todd Graves reflects on the franchise's humble beginnings 🍗🥳
As Raising Cane’s celebrates its 30th birthday, owner and founder Todd Graves is feeling nostalgic.
For one month, the first Raising Cane’s restaurant at 3313 Highland Rd. is featuring an exclusive look into the franchise’s history.
Just steps away from the original restaurant, also known as “The Mothership,” stands the apartment where Graves lived when he first opened the business in 1996. Today, this building has been converted into a pop-up museum that shares the story of Raising Cane’s humble beginnings.
Reflecting on this milestone, Graves shared what it means to him.
“This turned into 1,000 restaurants, 100,000 crew members, 165 million donations, and I want to see what I can do in the future,” he said at an Aug. 25 press conference. ”This represents the hard work and then the values and what we establish with our culture, which was appreciating your crew, community and customers.”
Inside the museum, history covers the walls. One wall features a timeline of the restaurant’s milestones, while other parts of the room display artifacts including the original floor plan of the first Raising Cane’s, Graves’ original business plan, and the restaurant’s first cash register. Stepping outside, visitors can view the actual Alaskan fishing boat that Graves worked on in 1995 to raise money to fund Raising Cane’s.
In addition to the memorabilia and artifacts downstairs, the upstairs has been converted into a replica of Graves’ 1996 apartment. It contains a fax machine, a tube TV and a large computer monitor like Graves had in the original space.
A view of the Raising Cane’s parking lot and drive-thru is visible from the bedroom window, and Graves says he used to constantly check on how business was doing in those early years.
The Mothership restaurant itself is a relic. The same purple carpet, wood paneling, and tiger-print booths have remained in the restaurant’s interior since its beginnings. Outside, a mural of the original Raising Cane’s logo is still painted on the building, further connecting the past to the present.
For some, it may be hard to believe that this multi-billion-dollar franchise began in these small spaces, but Graves, who still lives in Baton Rouge, appreciates being reminded of his roots.
“It’s nice to stay grounded, and this is what started this,” Graves told 225. “We have big fancy offices and big fancy restaurants, but the Mothership in here, it’s the roots. You don’t have to have fancy to create something special.”
Ahead of the pop-up museum’s official opening, Graves and the Raising Cane’s crew offered an exclusive preview of the space on Aug. 25. As part of the celebration, Duff Goldman, pastry chef, TV personality and founder of Charm City Cakes, created a special Raising Cane’s cake complete with confectionery versions of items in the museum.
Goldman transported the cake—which took 55 hours to create and weighs approximately 70 pounds—from his bakery in Baltimore to Baton Rouge.
During the exclusive preview, influencer and food reviewer Keith Lee shared his thoughts on Raising Cane’s enduring success, attributing it to the environment the business curates and its deep connection to the community.
“It’s different when you build a fan base, and you build a family,” Lee told 225. “When you build something that somebody genuinely has a connection to, they can relate it to more than your brand, and I think Cane’s has done an amazing job with that.”
The pop-up museum will be on view in the building next to the first Raising Cane’s restaurant until Sept. 24.
