A Golden Summer: Jrue Holiday shares love for Celtics experience in first year at new Raising Cane’s opening

Jrue Holiday can’t stop winning. In one calendar year, he was traded to the Boston Celtics, helped lift them to a 64-win regular season, won his second NBA Championship, and earned a second gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. And on Wednesday, Holiday enjoyed some more gold.

Raising Cane’s opened a new location in Boston on Arch Street in Downtown. Holiday helped company founder Todd Graves at the storefront’s kick-off event alongside Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz and Rhode Island native and singer/songwriter JVKE, who performed his hit song, “Golden Hour,” at the event.

The Cane’s is completely decked out in gold. From the exterior to the seats inside, everything is plastered in the same color as Holiday’s two Olympic medals.

“It's our 828th restaurant on 8/28, so I thought it was destiny. So I said, 'Let's do a golden restaurant,’” Graves explained. “And they went, 'What do you mean by that?' I'm like, 'Everything gold. Exterior, interior.'

“Got like 10,000 linear feet of this car vinyl that goes on. Had to heat treat it. We powder-coated everything in here. We gold leafed like the one and the one love over the counter. We got gold epoxy on the floor. Everything got covered in gold, and we actually had three color consultants just to make sure all the gold matched.”

Jrue Holiday continues Summer of Gold at Raising Cane's and shares his love for Boston after first year with Celtics

Holiday got behind the counter, helped Graves and Ortiz cut the ribbon in front of the store, and also took some time to share his love for Boston.

“From the beginning, how I ended up here was insane in the first place,” Holiday said. “So, I think the way that the city's embraced me, and [I've] been able to do so many successful things in such a short amount of time, has been fitting.”

Brad Stevens and the front office took a huge swing last summer when they traded for Holiday. He became available late in the offseason, but they pounced on the opportunity to add him to the squad.

And while Holiday’s counting stats took a hit, he was able to contribute to winning in a much more refined role. His elite perimeter defense and court awareness were essential to Boston’s title quest.

The end result was a championship, but the Larry O’Brien wasn’t the only gold Holiday donned this summer.

As noted, Holiday became a two-time gold medalist in Paris, as he was a member of Team USA alongside Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Derrick White. 

“I feel like I’m still on a high about everything going on,” Holiday said.

But for as sweet as that experience was, the joy of winning in Boston was simply different.

“The medal in Paris was cool. It was obviously against France. So, it was kind of like, literally us against the world. But winning here was amazing,” Holiday said. “I'm not sure it tops that. To win here in Boston. Game 5. The crowd. The shot Payton hit. I mean, it was just all so overwhelming. That was amazing.”

Before the playoffs began, Holiday inked a new extension with the Celtics, meaning he’ll be sticking around to help them compete for more titles in the coming years.

He’s fully established himself as a Bostonian, ingraining himself in the community and embracing the city that has embraced him back.

Holiday even co-founded a program with Jaylen Brown’s new initiative, Boston XChange, called the Boston Creator Incubator + Accelerator. The JLH Social Impact Fund, a foundation Holiday runs with his wife, Lauren, is helping spearhead the project.

“Businesses in underdeveloped areas. Just to be able to kind of get back to the community,” Holiday said. “I started it back during The Bubble, trying to give back during COVID time, seeing how, through covid, it was a struggle for a lot of people and a lot of people that look like me. 

“So, I've just been doing my best to give back, and I think the city of Boston has definitely embraced me and my family pretty well, even before the championship. So, I think by me and JB kind of partnering, and JB obviously knowing the lay of the land, it's a good partnership.”

Gold is all Holiday has seen for the past three months. The gold of the NBA Championship trophy, a gold medal in Paris, and now, the gold of the new Raising Cane’s.

And as golden confetti was blasted through the streets of Boston, Holiday’s excitement to be a part of the community was clear.

Even if the gold is getting to be a bit much.

“[It’s] cool that I actually get open up this with Todd here,” Holiday said. “And just to see all this gold, it's a bit overwhelming.”