That’s something that's matured from within over the years, Graves says. In January, the brand flew 10 general managers to its Dallas office under the premises of an in-person “feedback session” ahead of its all-company meeting. There, co-CEO and COO AJ Kumaran brought the group on stage and gave them all-expense paid trips to Hawaii. The previous summer, Graves bought 50,000 lottery tickets in hopes of hitting the Mega Millions jackpot, which had reached $790 million at that time. If he had won, Graves says, he would have distributed the winnings to employees.
Overall, across the last two or so years, Raising Cane’s added more than $200 million in wage increases and introduced a Restaurant Partner Program intended to turn GMs into millionaires. The latter began at the start of 2020 and is designed to give employees more than $1 million in net worth within 10 years. To qualify, they must be a GM for at least a year and show strong results. Once selected, they go through a 12-month probationary period before graduating into the official program. As of last August, there were 150 Restaurant Partners, including 40 that joined that year. By fall 2022, Raising Cane’s had created 4,500 jobs and promoted over 1,200 employees. More than 40 percent of corporate leaders began as workers inside a restaurant.
For broader perspective, Raising Cane’s has an entire department dedicated to showing appreciation to crewmembers called “Cane’s Love.” Leadership writes roughly 4,000 thank you cards per week to employees. During its final systemwide call of 2021, the chain gave away more than $100,000, including dozens of workers receiving $1,000 bonuses, five earning $2,500 for tuition costs, and two getting $5,000 to help pay bills.
When COVID first arrived, the company refused to furlough or lay off any of its 23,000 workers. A couple of months later, Raising Cane’s doubled down on its “No Crew Left Behind” mentality by distributing $2 million in bonuses to account for hours some employees gave up so everyone could remain employed. Neither Kumaran nor Graves took a salary at the time.
Then, in August, the fast casual bolstered retention efforts by expanding its educational benefits, comprising of access to college-level courses, reimbursed class costs to complete a high school diploma, and up to $5,250 per year in tuition reimbursement.
Raising Cane’s was one of only three restaurant brands names to Forbes’ “Best Employers for New Grads” and one of only four hospitality companies to be on Glassdoor’s “100 Best Places to Work in the U.S.” It was also a QSR Best Brand to Work For.
Graves says, dressed down, he’s trying to pay it forward. He knows how impossible his story was and wants to reward fate. But it’s also true Raising Cane’s efforts on this front circulate. Operators in a year-end survey told the National Restaurant Association first-time employees filled 22 percent of openings in 2022. It was even higher—27 percent—in quick service. Fourteen percent of job openings in 2022 were filled by people promoted internally. Four in 10 quick-service positions were taken by either new entrants to the workforce or people being promoted from other positions within the same restaurant.
These employees are the community Graves speaks of. How they’re treated by Raising Cane’s fuels a peer-to-peer conversation that reflects well on the brand and empowers other businesses.
Graves was named a Top CEO by Glassdoor in 2019. He received an approval rating of 95 percent by his employees, placing No. 28 on the list. Among the roughly 900,000 companies reviewed on Glassdoor, the average CEO figure was 69 percent. “That’s crazy stuff when you think your crew members vote for you. They rate you that,” Graves says. “But it’s like, that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“Our business, quick service, we’re most people’s first job in the country,” he adds. “And so, we have a responsibility to teach them good work ethic, but to have fun and learn how to treat people right. How do you serve people? How do you earn people’s money? When you have a good example of that and with a founder being around, that’s a lot of influence, man, and it’s a purpose.”
Why aren’t more brands following Raising Cane’s path? Graves wishes there were more founder-driven businesses in the industry, as there were decades ago. As good as private equity has been for many brands, it often disrupts the decision-making checklist, he says.
“I have to answer to my crew and my customers, but I don’t have to answer to a board, I don’t have to answer to shareholders,” Graves says. “It’s very easy for us to make decisions, go to Hawaii and get big bonuses this year, because I can make those decisions independently.”
“Also,” he continues, “this is my baby. Our culture is built on appreciation. Appreciation for our crew, our customers, and our communities because I’m still that guy. I’m still that kid that’s working in Alaska to try to go for his dreams. You just never lose that appreciation when it’s so hard to start. So I put my people and my crew first. And I put my customers right behind them. I put my communities right behind them.”
“Secret Sauce” began filming in the summer of 2020. All of it took place during the thick of COVID. As Graves was getting episodes together, he was often running back to the trailer to take calls for Raising Cane’s. “Back and forth like crazy,” he says.
The response has been great to date, Graves adds. And there are still a couple of episodes to go. He isn’t sure if he’ll keep adding to his TV credits or what his next premiere might look like. But Graves wants to be out there, sharing his story.
“Honestly, I think God made me good at chicken fingers to help people,” he says.
