Raising Cane's owner admits there's one side dish he won't eat, and it's still on the menu
Raising Cane's owner and founder Todd Graves recently admitted he doesn't like the coleslaw served at his own chicken-finger chain.
Graves made the revelation in an Instagram interview in which content creator Joe Bonham asked him his Cane's order.
"Box Combo, no slaw, extra toast and extra sauce," the CEO replied.
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"You don't do any coleslaw?" Bonham asked.
"I don't like the coleslaw, man, that's why I trade it out," Graves replied.
Bonham told Graves nobody likes the coleslaw, and Graves shrugged.
"Every once in a while, I get somebody that likes it, but I'm not crazy about coleslaw, so trade it out for toast," he said.
Bonham followed up by asking whose idea it was to add the coleslaw.
Graves said he wanted a "vegetable component to the meal," and that coleslaw is "a Southern thing, but I don't care for it."
The viral video garnered 8.5 million views, 457,000 likes and over 4,000 comments.
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Several commenters agreed with the sentiment expressed by one Instagram user: "Love an honest CEO."
"He's one of us," a person wrote.
"He knows what's up," wrote another.
Discussion regarding the coleslaw itself prompted a lively debate.
The comment, "I go double slaw," received 35,437 likes, along with reactions such as, "Criminal," "Diabolical" and "Federal prison for you."
"The slaw is underrated for sure," remarked another.
"It's the best part!" someone else wrote.
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"Everyone says lock him up, but he's doing us a service," another person commented.
Others chimed in to suggest different sides.
Potato salad, pickles and mac and cheese were among the ideas.
A 3.1-ounce serving of Raising Cane's coleslaw is 100 calories, according to the restaurant's website. The chain advertises the menu item as "crisp, creamy and freshly prepared."
"If you try to be all things to all people, you aren't great to anyone," Graves said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"So, we focus on serving craveable chicken finger meals and doing it better than anyone else, which is why you'll never see limited-time offerings or new items coming on and off the menu. I always say, don't fix what isn't broken. Our coleslaw isn't going anywhere."
There are multiple Reddit forums that debate Cane's coleslaw. "Coleslaw is the best part of Raising Cane's" is posted on the r/unpopularopinion subreddit.
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"Why do they make slaw?" wondered a poster on the r/RaisingCanes forum.
"Does anyone actually eat the coleslaw from here? I always sub it out for extra toast/fries," wrote someone in the same forum.
"I get asked all the time if I'm ever going to add something else to the menu and the answer is no," Graves told Fox News Digital.
"We've had the same menu since I opened the doors to the first Raising Cane's in Baton Rouge nearly 30 years ago: chicken fingers, Cane's Sauce, coleslaw, Cane's toast and crinkle-cut fries. This focused menu means our crew can focus on doing one thing and doing it better than anyone else."
The restaurant's ethos, according to Graves, is centered around the "one love" principle that "enables us to build the perfect box combo that is served hot, fast and fresh each and every time."
"When I originally created the menu, I wanted to give people something to be able to switch out, so they can sub extra fries, extra Cane's Sauce or extra Texas toast," Graves added.
"The coleslaw gives them that item to be able to assemble their perfect box. And if someone personally loves coleslaw, that's great too!"
Raising Cane's opened its 1,000th restaurant – in Hollywood, California, – in March.
The restaurant's website lists six new locations set to open this month.