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BATON ROUGE  – While the majority of its restaurants are open and serving customers through its drive-thrus, Raising Cane’s dine-in only restaurant has shifted operations to make masks instead of its signature chicken fingers.

   Raising Cane’s Crewmembers have begun sewing three-ply cloth masks to ease the shortage at local hospitals, donating more than 600 masks after the first week of production. As Crewmembers get more proficient, the numbers are expected to grow significantly in coming weeks.

   “I can’t tell you how proud I am of our Crewmembers for stepping up and supporting our community in such a meaningful way,” said Raising Cane’s Founder & CEO Todd Graves. “When our Crew came up with the idea, I was immediately on board.”

   Teams of Crewmembers are being paid to produce the masks, many of whom had never sewn before this initiative began. The two teams work in block schedule shifts in adherence with the company’s social distancing procedures.

   “I haven’t ever sewn before but I’m a quick learner and I love being able to do this for my community,” said Rachael Morgan, General Manager for Raising Cane’s.

   “We have not furloughed any Raising Cane’s Crewmember, and it’s our company’s mantra ‘no Crewmember left behind,’” Graves said. “Of our 500 restaurants, we have a handful that are closed because they don’t have a drive-thru. We may not be able to serve chicken fingers at these locations, however, our Crewmembers are finding new ways to serve their communities.”

   Committed to being an active community partner, Raising Cane’s is finding new ways to give back, such as its “Cane’s In The Moment” Virtual Entertainment Series. The series features a different artist or group every Wednesday and Friday through April 29. In addition, during every concert Raising Cane’s will host a fundraiser for healthcare workers or disaster relief organizations.

   Every performance will be played on Facebook Live @RaisingCanesChickenFingers. For the performance schedule and more information about Raising Cane’s Virtual Entertainment Series, visit https://raisingcanes.com/virtualentertainment.

   Raising Cane’s April 17 performance with Kevin Griffin of Better Than Ezra raised more than $35,000 for the Bella Bowman Foundation’s Relief Comfort Care bags for hospital workers.