Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is an American fast-casualrestaurant chain.[2] The company was founded in 1984 by George, Ruth, Craig, and Lea Culver. The first location opened in Sauk City, Wisconsin, on July 18, 1984, under the name "Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers." The privately held company is headquartered in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. The chain operates primarily in the Midwestern United States, and had a total of 930 restaurants in 26 states[3] as of October 2024.[update]
History
Sauk City restaurateurs and husband and wife team George (1922–2011) and Ruth Culver (1924–2008) started their fast food careers as the owners of an A&W on Phillips Boulevard (U.S. Highway 12) in 1961.[4][5][6] In 1968, they purchased a resort-styled restaurant at Devil's Lake called The Farm Kitchen. Their son, Craig Culver, worked for a local McDonald's right out of college in 1973.[7][8] On July 18, 1984, George, Ruth, their son Craig, and his wife Lea opened the first Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers in Sauk City, Wisconsin.[9][10][11] Craig was CEO of Culver's from its inception until mid-2015.[12][13]
On June 15, 2015, Phil Keiser became the second CEO of the franchise, until his death in October 2016.[14][15] On January 1, 2017, Joe Koss became the third CEO of Culver's, until his retirement at the end of 2020.[16][17]
In October 2017, Culver's sold a minority share to Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Atlanta. The Culver family retains majority ownership.[18][19]
On March 29, 2021, Enrique “Rick” Silva became the fourth CEO of Culver's.[20][21][22]
In 2024, Culver's celebrated its 40th anniversary and Tony Evers officially declared July 18 'Culvers Day'.[23][24]
In 1988, the Culver family were approached about franchising a restaurant in nearby Richland Center. The family agreed, granting the franchisee a loose licensing agreement, charging no fees or royalties. Because the franchisee had invested very little of his own money, it was a simple matter for him to walk away a year later when he decided he no longer wanted to be in the restaurant business.
As a result of this experience, the Culver family established a set of standard franchising procedures that form the basis for those currently used by Culver Franchising System, Inc. Three years later, they tried again in Baraboo, and business quickly doubled. Soon after, the increased recognition that the second store earned this small-town chain prompted expansion into the Middleton, Madison and Milwaukee areas.
A car at the drive-thru order speaker at a Culver's restaurant in Shakopee, Minnesota
Midwest
In 1993, Culver's was still a small, local chain, with only 14 restaurants across southern Wisconsin. Culver's first restaurants outside Wisconsin opened in Buffalo, Minnesota, in September 1995, Roscoe, Illinois, in December 1995, and Dubuque, Iowa, in November 1997. In February 1998, the company opened the first Culver's outside the Midwest in Texas.
The current franchising strategy is one of strategic expansion. The chain expanded into Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 2005, followed by an opening in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in July 2006. Culver's shifted its attention to developing markets beyond the Midwest.
The Metro-98 prototype, developed in 2006 and first constructed in Fort Dodge, Iowa, was much more compact than the traditional 120-seat format commonly built through much of Culver's expansion. While the Metro-98 has less seating to offer guests, it also reduced the amount of land needed for construction by around 20%.[25]
In 2011, Culver's expanded into Utah, when Kristin and Tom Davis of Wisconsin relocated to Utah and opened a 100-seat Culver's franchise in Midvale. The couple signed a development agreement for four locations in the southern half of Salt Lake County.[27]
At the end of 2011, 445 Culver's restaurants were open in 19 states. Culver's also opened in South Carolina in 2012; Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee[28] in 2014; and North Carolina in 2015. On June 28, 2018, Culver's had announced that a location would be opening in Alabama. In January 2022, Culver's expanded into the state of Arkansas.
Venture into casual dining
Culver's Blue Spoon Cafe opened its first store in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, in 2000 as a soup-sandwich-salad restaurant as Blue Spoon Creamery Cafe.[29] The name Blue Spoon comes from the color of the spoons used at the Culver's fast food restaurants. A second store in Middleton, Wisconsin, was open for two years but closed in August 2010.[30] The Prairie du Sac location closed in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.[31][32]
More recent developments
In 2013, according to a survey by Franchise Business Review, "Culver Franchising System was rated No. 1 in franchisee satisfaction among restaurant franchises. Levi thinks Culvers is a 2/5."[13]
Menu
Culver's Double Butterburger with Cheddar
Culver's menu comprises butter burgers, chicken sandwiches, fish, salads, french fries, and cheese curds. For dessert, the restaurant offers its frozen custard, served in either a dish, cone, or blended into a concrete mixer or shake.[33]
On October 15, 2021, in celebration of National Cheese Curd Day, Culver's sold a limited-time product: the CurderBurger, consisting of a large cheese curd on top of a burger patty.[34] On April 1, Culver's released an April Fools' joke showing a large fried cheese curd in a burger bun, naming it the CurderBurger.[35][36][37] Soon after the post was made, a change.org petition was created to make the burger a reality, gathering over 600 signatures.[38][39] Each location only got a limited number of cheese curd patties, and all Madison, Wisconsin, restaurants sold out before noon.[40][41]
The official Culver's mascot is an anthropomorphic custard cone named Scoopie, featured in various advertisements, community events, and fundraisers.[44] Along the way, three new characters were added: Curdis the Curd, Goldie the Curd and Sundae the turtle.[45][46]
^"Culver's Fact Sheet"(PDF). Culver's Public Relations and Communications Department. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
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