Keith Lee has become something of a modern-day superhero for local restaurants. It’s hard to believe that it was a little over three years ago when I first covered the mixed martial artist-turned-food critic.

At the top of 2023, Lee visited Frankensons, a family-owned restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada that was struggling to pay rent. He paid for his own meal and reviewed the items he ordered at the pizzeria in a viral TikTok video that would quickly become “life-changing” for Frankensons.

In the three years since that video went viral, Lee has doubled down on his generosity and commitment to community. Just last week, the Detroit, Michigan native was boots on the ground for a relief event in Gary, Indiana where residents have been without power for weeks. Thanks to Lee and partners like The Salvation Army, attendees were treated to food, cleaning kits, and other vital supplies.

Just one day after the Gary event, I had the chance to speak with Lee at a media event held to celebrate Raising Cane’s 30th Birthday. During the event, which was also attended by Raising Cane’s owner and founder Todd Graves, Lee revealed exclusive details on what his next project might be.

“I think the restaurant business, if not the hardest, is one of the hardest businesses to get into and maintain,” Lee shared with LUSHWORTHY. “Most restaurants don't last 30 years. So for me I always thought about—and I’m giving you the exclusive, I’ve never said this out loud except with my family. I've always thought about a restaurant that has a change in chefs, but the chef comes in quarterly. Or they can come in like halfway through the year and it's a homegrown chef who has been working non-stop and he has his own menu. And the menu switches out every six months, but is only family-owned by local chefs.”

Now, before you race over to OpenTable to put in your reservation, you might want to slow it down a bit. While Lee seems fully inspired by his restaurant idea, it’s not a priority just yet. Instead, Lee and fam are looking forward to expanding their Familee Day. And it’s looking like you could be up next Chicago.

“We talked about it a lot. The festival is our main priority,” said Lee while at Raising Cane’s Mothership location in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “We were in New Orleans this year. We’re thinking about a couple locations, but Chicago right now is our main destination…Eventually I can see a restaurant.”

And speaking of unique concepts, if you find yourself in Baton Rouge in September, you’ve got to pay a visit to Raising Cane’s 30th Birthday Museum. Myself and several other journalists were treated to a tour of the two-story space by Graves himself.

I have to say that my favorite part of the exhibit was the second floor, which is a recreation of Graves’ apartment from the ‘90s (seen in the photo above). And holy nostalgia, it truly is a blast from the past. I never dreamed I’d see a floppy disk again in real life.

For details on how you can visit the museum, head to RaisingCanes.com. (And make sure you grab some tenders and extra sauce from The Mothership, which is Raising Cane’s OG location and is right around the corner from the museum.)

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