Culver's

Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain. 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

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. 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. 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. Craig was CEO of Culver's from its inception until mid-2015.

Wisconsin

In 1988, the Culver family started franchising the restaurant. 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.

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.

Beyond the Midwest

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%.

In 2008, Culver's expanded to the Phoenix metropolitan area.

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.

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 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. 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. The Prairie du Sac location closed in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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."

On June 15, 2015, Phil Keiser became the second CEO of the franchise, until his death in October 2016. On January 1, 2017, Joe Koss became the third CEO of Culver's, until his retirement at the end of 2020.

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.

On March 29, 2021, Enrique "Rick" Silva became the fourth CEO of Culver's.

In 2024, Culver's celebrated its 40th anniversary and Governor Tony Evers officially declared July 18 "Culvers Day" in Wisconsin.

On April 28, 2025, due to the retirement of Rick Silva in February 2025, Julie Fussner was appointed as the fifth CEO of Culver's. She is the first female CEO of Culver's. She was previously the chief marketing officer, and had been with the company since 2017.

Menu

Culver's menu comprises 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.

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. On April 1, Culver's released an April Fools' joke showing a large fried cheese curd in a burger bun, naming it the CurderBurger. Soon after the post was made, a change.org petition was created to make the burger a reality, gathering over 600 signatures. Each location only got a limited number of cheese curd patties, and all Madison, Wisconsin, restaurants sold out before noon.

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. Culver's also sponsors the WIAC baseball championship. In 2025, Culver's sponsored the movie Green and Gold.

Official mascots

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

See also

* List of frozen custard companies
* List of hamburger restaurants

References

External links

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{{Fast-food chains of the United States

Companies based in Wisconsin
Restaurants in Wisconsin
Economy of the Midwestern United States
Family-owned companies of the United States
Fast-food chains of the United States
Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Restaurants established in 1984
Fast casual restaurants
Hamburger restaurants
Ice cream parlors in the United States
Fast-food franchises
Frozen custard
Privately held companies based in Wisconsin
1984 establishments in Wisconsin
Culver's
Wisconsin culture