Free Enterprise

Raising Canes! 

Hello everyone! 

     I hope you guys had or are having a wonderful Spring Break!! For our free enterprise class we were told to pick a particular business and become experts of that business. Because I love food and I consider myself to be a Louisianian, I chose to do mine on a local food restaurant. I'm aware that some of you might be missing out on this restaurant: CANES! 

     Canes is a Lousiana fast food restaurant that only sells chicken! Their menu literally only consists of chicken. There are only 4 main plates. All of them are the same except the amount of chicken fingers for each menu item change. One of the options is even a sandwich! They're known for their unique sauce and wonderful Texas toast! Unfortunately they're only a regional restaurant so for some of you it might be a bit far! 

     Their story is quite an inspiration for entrepreneurs everywhere! The owner started out as an LSU student and presented the idea of a chicken finger restaurant in one of his business classes. He got the lowest grade in the class! He then went to bank to ask for loans to start his business. They all told him that a restaurant that only sells chicken fingers would never work. He did not let this bring him down! Since he couldn't get a loan he decided to raise the money himself. He spent the next couple of years working at a refinery here in Louisiana. He then moved to Alaska and worked in commercial fishing. This was very profitable so he was able to raise the money! After some time he moved back to Louisiana and opened the very first Canes restaurant! He, along with his friends, fixed up an old building and on their opening night they stayed opened until 3 am!! It was a hit!! Everyone loved his chicken!! Today Canes has become a regional restaurant and in little time he's opened more the 100 chains in the entire region! 

    That's not all. Every chain that they open donate 25% of their profits to the community that they're in! 25%!! You might be wondering why he named the restaurant Canes. Well, he named it after his dog. He has a big love for dogs! In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he's responsible for several large dog parks! He's quite a role model. We can learn from him that anything is possible as long as there's perseverance.

Until next time, everyone :) 

-Melissa S.