After the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in the World Series, it was a near-inevitability that one of their players would be doing a promotional appearance at Raising Cane’s.
Over the last several years, it’s developed into a rite of passage for sports champions to show up at the chicken finger chain and work a shift — and this week Dodgers outfielder Kiké Hernández became the latest in a list that has included Al Horford, Angel Reese, Ja’Marr Chase, Livvy Dunne, Katie Ledecky and many more.
Raising Cane’s co-founder and CEO Todd Graves, who joined the cast of ABC’s “Shark Tank” this season, spoke exclusively to The Post about how the restaurant’s intertwinement with sports has helped fuel its growth.
Raising Cane’s was founded in Baton Rouge in 1996 and its first foray into sports advertising came through a deal with LSU’s baseball team in 2003.
“As soon as I could afford it, I did — same with the Saints,” Graves said.
With LSU, Graves reasoned that he could get the best bang for his buck buying a sponsorship in the outfield — because the ad would draw impressions on local news when they showed home run highlights.
“It was like $5,000 and I thought I’d get a could cost-per-impression. We didn’t have a lot of advertising dollars so I had to stretch them,” Graves said.
“We saw loyalty that came with supporting LSU, the Saints and the players.”
The idea of having star athletes come work shifts at the chain happened serendipitously.
Raising Cane’s tabbed James Harden for an appearance in 2012 at a store opening outside Oklahoma City, where he was playing at the time.
“And he leaned out the drive-thru window and they took a picture, and I was like, ‘Oh man, that’s good,’” Graves said. “If I can start getting people to serve and do the drive-thru, it would humanize them. Nobody had done it. We’ve done it so much and had so much success that now you’ll see other businesses do it too.”
Graves said that the idea “really blew up” in 2021 when Snoop Dogg did an appearance to promote a new album and images of the rapper serving astonished customers in Arkansas went viral.
“We started doing it with athletes — people loved seeing these sports stars making drinks and serving chicken fingers and having a good time doing it,” Graves said, explaining that it eventually morphed into a campaign in which they did it to celebrate championships.
Graves said that he strives for the activations to be more than transactions, to form lasting relationships with athletes and celebrities, helping their charities and keeping in communication with them.
Beyond sports teams, Graves and Raising Cane’s have collaborated at the Manning Passing Academy and Tight End University with George Kittle, Greg Olsen and Travis Kelce, plus Cam Jordan and Maxx Crosby’s Sack Summit.
“Those things are great for me because you build great core relationships. I like hanging out with people who are successful no matter what it is they do, because it inspires you. I talk to business people all the time and it’s nice to have somebody different. These athletes are just going for it,” Graves said. “I have the same view: Never satisfied.”
Graves will lead the Super Bowl parade when the NFL championship hits New Orleans in early 2025.
Raising Cane’s has also done a big partnership with Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports, and Graves agreed with The Post’s take that it’s a rarity where as a media brand they have fans who root for them almost like a sports team.
“They have an enormous fan base and it’s worked out great,” Graves said.
Most chains the size of Raising Cane’s do not still have their founders in charge as Graves is — Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer remains the chairman of the board, and Panda Express founder Andrew Cherng still controls the chain’s parent company.
Graves has been steadfast at keeping the same Raising Cane’s menu for over two decades — chicken fingers and sandwiches with zesty sauce and sides of cole slaw, fries and Texas Toast.
Unlike other chain leaders, he has refused to add desserts or salads to the fare.
“I just believed from the get-go: Do one thing. Do what you’re good at. Do what’s craveable in the food business and execute like crazy on it,” Graves said.
He said he was inspired by seeing how In-N-Out Burger has had the exact same menu since 1948.
Graves had a “chip on my shoulder” when people advised him that he would need to add salads to counteract the “veto vote” of family members who wanted to eat healthy.
“From the beginning, I’ve never considered changing,” he said.
Graves took an extra step into the public eye when he joined the cast of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” the longtime reality show where billionaires bid against each other to invest in business pitches.
“I’ve always been a fan of the show and the sharks. I like the competitiveness and the pitches being less than an hour,” Graves said.
“They contacted me and asked me if I’d want to be on it. I said, ‘No. 1, it’ll help me promote my business. Secondarily, I’m a fan on the show.’ I thought it would be fun to compete and see how I’d do against the other sharks.”
