Culver's

Last updated

Culver Franchising System, LLC
Culver's
Company type Private
Industry Fast food restaurants Franchising
FoundedJuly 18, 1984;41 years ago (1984-07-18) in Sauk City, Wisconsin
Founders
Headquarters Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, United States
Number of locations
1,000 (April 2025)
Area served
26 U.S. states, mainly in the Midwest
Key people
Products
RevenueIncrease2.svg $3.2 billion
OwnerCulver family
Number of employees
25,000 [1]
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain. [2] [3] 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 has a total of 1,000 restaurants in 26 states [4] as of April 2025. [5]

Contents

History

Sauk City restaurateurs and husband and wife team George and Ruth Culver started their fast food careers as the owners of an A&W on Phillips Boulevard (U.S. Highway 12) in 1961. [6] [7] [8] 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. [9] [10] George, Ruth, their son Craig, and his wife Lea opened the first Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers in Sauk City, Wisconsin on July 18, 1984. [11] [12] [13] Craig was CEO of Culver's from its inception until mid-2015. [14] [15]

Wisconsin

Culver's in Onalaska, Wisconsin, featuring the traditional blue metal roof Culver's restaurant.jpg
Culver's in Onalaska, Wisconsin, featuring the traditional blue metal roof
A Culver's counter in Milwaukee (customer on the left is former Vice President Mike Pence) Vice President Pence in WI (49391403211).jpg
A Culver's counter in Milwaukee (customer on the left is former Vice President Mike Pence)

The Culver family started franchising the restaurant in 1988. [16] 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.[ citation needed ]

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.[ citation needed ]

Midwest

A car at the drive-thru order speaker and a DOMB at a Culver's restaurant in Shakopee, Minnesota Culver's Drive-Thru Restaurant Menu.jpg
A car at the drive-thru order speaker and a DOMB at a Culver's restaurant in Shakopee, Minnesota

Culver's was still a small, local chain in 1993, with only 14 restaurants across southern Wisconsin. Their first restaurants outside Wisconsin opened in Buffalo, Minnesota in September 1995, Roscoe, Illinois in December 1995, and Dubuque, Iowa in November 1997.[ citation needed ]

Beyond the Midwest

Number of Culver's stores per state, as of February 2023 Culvers stores by state.svg
Number of Culver's stores per state, as of February 2023
A Culver's in Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction, CO Restaurant.jpg
A Culver's in Grand Junction, Colorado

Culver's soon shifted its attention to developing markets beyond the Midwest, and opened the first franchise outside the region in Texas in February 1998. 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. [ citation needed ]

Locations traditionally had a 120-seat format through much of Culver's expansion. The Metro-98 prototype was developed in 2006 and first constructed in Fort Dodge, Iowa. While the new layout has less seating to offer guests, it also reduced the amount of land needed for construction by around 20%. [17]

The company expanded to the Phoenix metropolitan area in 2008. [18] The first franchise in Utah opened in Midvale in 2011, when a couple from Wisconsin relocated there. They signed a development agreement for four locations in the southern half of Salt Lake County. [19]

By the end of 2011, 445 Culver's restaurants were open in 19 states. They opened in South Carolina in 2012; Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee [20] in 2014; and North Carolina in 2015. A location was announced for Alabama in June 2018, and expansion continued into Arkansas in January 2022.[ citation needed ]

Blue Spoon Creamery Cafe

Culver's opened a new spinoff soup-sandwich-salad restaurant in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin in 2000, called Blue Spoon Creamery Cafe. [21] The name came 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. [22] The Prairie du Sac location closed in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. [23] [24]

Recent developments

According to a 2013 survey by Franchise Business Review, Culver's was rated the best in franchisee satisfaction by franchisees. [15]

The family sold a minority share to Roark Capital Group in October 2017, but retained majority ownership. [25] [26]

The company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers officially declared July 18 "Culvers Day" in Wisconsin. [27] [28]

Leadership

Phil Keiser became the second CEO of the franchise in June 2015 until his death in October 2016. [29] [30] Joe Koss followed him in January 2017 until retiring at the end of 2020. [31] [32] He was succeeded by Enrique "Rick" Silva in March 2021. [33] [34] [35] Silva retired in April 2025 and was replaced with Julie Fussner, the first female CEO of the compant. She was previously the chief marketing officer, and had been with the company since 2017. [36] [37] [38]

Culver's Double Butterburger with Cheddar Culver's Double Butterburger with Cheddar.jpg
Culver's Double Butterburger with Cheddar

Culver's menu consists of butter burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, fish, salads, soup, onion rings, french fries, cheese curds, and corn dogs. For dessert, the restaurant offers its frozen custard, served in either a dish, cone, or blended into a concrete mixer, malt, or shake. [39] [40] [41]

The company released an April Fools' joke in 2021 showing a large fried cheese curd in a burger bun, naming it the CurderBurger. [42] [43] [44] Soon after the post was made, a change.org petition was created to make the burger a reality, gathering over 600 signatures. [45] [46] In celebration of National Cheese Curd Day on October 15 that year, the CurderBurger debuted, consisting of a large cheese curd on top of a burger patty. [47] Each location only got a limited number of cheese curd patties, and all Madison, Wisconsin, restaurants sold out before noon. [48] [49]

Sponsorships

Culver's sponsors sports teams, including the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), Wisconsin Badgers, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Madison Mallards, Green Bay Packers, American Family Insurance Championship, Culver's Cup Hockey Tournament, Jeff Trickey QB Camps, Isthmus Bowl and Wisconsin Junior Boys & Girls Golf Championships. [50] Culver's also sponsors the WIAC baseball championship. [51] The company sponsored the movie Green and Gold in 2025. [52]

Official mascots

The official Culver's mascot is an anthropomorphic custard cone named Scoopie, featured in various advertisements, community events, and fundraisers. [53] Three new characters have been added: Curdis the Curd and Goldie the Curd in 2018 and Sundae the Turtle in 2022. [54] [55]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ Bridges, C. A. "ButterBurgers, cheese curds, frozen custard and more: 10 things to know about Culver's". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved May 26, 2024. Culver's was well ahead of the curve when it came to the "fast casual" trend. You order at the counter, take a number to your seat, and wait for your food to be delivered because nothing is cooked before you order it.
  3. ↑ Higgins, Daniel. "Culver's just turned 34. Its butter burgers, custard are 'exporting Wisconsin' nationwide". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved June 23, 2025. Culver's was fast casual — order at the counter, take a number to your seat, wait for your food to be delivered — decades before it would be the hottest trend in the food industry.
  4. 1 2 "View All Locations". Culver's. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ Klein, Danny (December 17, 2024). "Culver's Celebrates Opening of 1,000th Restaurant". QSR Magazine. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Craig Culver recalls Culver's origins". Sun Prairie Star . January 31, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  7. ↑ Morrison, Sherman (January 20, 2015). "A Bit of Nostalgia: The Culver's Menu". Franchise Chatter. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ Bridges, C. (May 10, 2021). "ButterBurgers, cheese curds, frozen custard and more: 10 things to know about Culver's". The Florida Times-Union . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  9. ↑ Vigliotti, Jake (February 3, 2023). "The Untold Truth of Culver's". mashed. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ "How Craig Culver Built A Thriving Restaurant Chain". WUWM . August 27, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Culver's". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ Taschler, Joe (March 7, 2019). "Wisconsin food: Culver's grows to 700 stores in 25 states". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ Allemand, Alyssa (December 13, 2021). "What's the scoop on the origin of the Culver's franchise". Wisconsin State Farmer . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Romell, Rick (February 10, 2015). "Craig Culver to retire as CEO of restaurant chain". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Adams, Barry (February 10, 2015). "Co-founder of Culver's to retire as CEO of the custard". Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ Christians, Lindsay (October 10, 2020). "How Culver's created its take on the veggie burger". The Cap Times. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  17. ↑ "New design to save Culver's up to $150,000 per store". QSR Web. April 13, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  18. ↑ Ducey, Lynn (February 24, 2012). "Smash hit: Gourmet burger places find meaty market in the Valley". Phoenix Business Journal .
  19. ↑ Rattle, Barbara (July 2010). "400-unit restaurant chain to make Utah debut in Midvale". Enterprise/Salt Lake City. 40 (3): 1.
  20. ↑ Rittenberg, Adam (July 30, 2018). "From cannabis to Chick-fil-A, former CFB coaches find new careers". ESPN . Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  21. ↑ Stevens, Shannon (April 11, 1999). "Culver's to go upscale with Blue Spoon Creamery Cafe" . Milwaukee Business Journal . Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  22. ↑ Stocker, Michelle (August 26, 2010). "Middleton's Blue Spoon Cafe Closes" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  23. ↑ Fritz, Brock (May 6, 2020). "Culver's-owned Blue Spoon Café closes permanently in Prairie du Sac amid COVID-19 pandemic" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Culver's: Pandemic leads to permanent closure of Blue Spoon Cafe". WKOW.com. May 2, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  25. ↑ Newman, Judy (October 14, 2017). "Atlanta investment firm scoops up Culver's stock" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  26. ↑ Lawder, Melanie (October 16, 2017). "Family-owned Culver's sells minority stake to Atlanta private equity firm". Milwaukee Business Journal . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  27. ↑ Kirwan, Hope (July 18, 2024). "Culver's celebrates 40 years of business". Wisconsin Public Radio . Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Culver's celebrates 40 years of business". BusinessNorth . August 2, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  29. ↑ Lamoreaux, Kim (February 25, 2015). "Keiser focused on brand as new Culver's CEO". WISC-TV . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  30. ↑ Romeo, Peter (October 17, 2016). "Culvers' CEO Phil Keiser dies". Restaurant Business . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  31. ↑ Maze, Jonathan (November 29, 2016). "Culver's names company veteran to CEO post". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  32. ↑ Thorn, Bret (September 18, 2020). "Culver Franchising System president and CEO Joe Koss to retire". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  33. ↑ Sims, Bob (February 26, 2021). "Culver's appoints Enrique 'Rick' Silva CEO". Meat + Poultry. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  34. ↑ Ruggless, Ron (February 25, 2021). "Culver's Franchising names Rick Silva CEO". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  35. ↑ Danley, Sam (February 26, 2021). "Culver's names new CEO". Food Business News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  36. ↑ Thompson, Chad (April 28, 2025). "Culver's appoints Julie Fussner as first female CEO". WXOW . Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  37. ↑ Kelso, Alicia (April 28, 2025). "Culver's names Julie Fussner as CEO". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  38. ↑ Maze, Jonathan (April 28, 2025). "Culver's names Julie Fussner CEO". Restaurant Business . Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  39. ↑ Nelson, Dustin (February 19, 2020). "Stop Ignoring the Best Regional Fast Food Chain in the Country". Thrillist. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Full Culver's Menu – Updated Prices and Items". May 22, 2025. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  41. ↑ "Culver's Nutrition" . Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  42. ↑ "Culver's Cheese Curd Burger Was an April Fool's Joke & Now It's Real". Thrillist. September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  43. ↑ Viviani, Nick (April 2021). "Culver's teases cheese curd lovers with an April Fool's CurderBurger". www.wsaw.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  44. ↑ Thomas, Rob (April 2021). "Yeah, I Ate That: Be honest. You'd eat a Culver's Curderburger if it was real" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  45. ↑ Thomas, Rob (September 29, 2021). "The Culver's Curderburger is real, and it's coming Oct. 15" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  46. ↑ "Cheese Curd + Butterburger = Curderburger. And Yes, This Time It's Real". Volume One. September 29, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  47. ↑ Flury, Jade (October 16, 2020). "Culver's sells out of Curderburger". WSAW. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  48. ↑ Tornabene, Juliana (October 14, 2021). "Culver's Curderburger sells out quickly across Madison 🧀🍔". NBC 15. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  49. ↑ Simon, Alexandra (October 15, 2021). "You'll have to act fast if you want to try Culver's CurderBurger". KARE 11. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  50. ↑ "Burger Chain Puts In Order For More Sponsorships". IEG Sponsorship Report. March 9, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  51. ↑ "2019 WIAC Baseball Championship (Presented by Culver's)". Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference . Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  52. ↑ Spice, Linda (December 30, 2024). "Culver's backs 'Green and Gold' movie set for national release: Quick Bites". Milwaukee Business Journal . Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  53. ↑ Kramer, McKenzie (July 1, 2013). "LifeSource and Culver's Mascot, Scoopie, Promote Summer Blood Drive". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Introducing the Cutest Curd Nerd: Curdis". Culver's. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  55. ↑ "Curd Is The Word". Culver's. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.