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Culver's

Culver Franchising System, LLC, doing business as Culver's,[1] 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]

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

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.

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

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.

Beyond the Midwest

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.

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.

In February 2026, Culver's announced plans to enter the Virginia market, starting with their first location in the Richmond area. [21]

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.[22] 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.[23] The Prairie du Sac location closed in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.[24][25]

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.[26][27]

The company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers officially declared July 18 "Culvers Day" in Wisconsin.[28][29]

Leadership

Phil Keiser became the second CEO of the franchise in June 2015 until his death in October 2016.[30][31] Joe Koss followed him in January 2017 until retiring at the end of 2020.[32][33] He was succeeded by Enrique "Rick" Silva in March 2021.[34][35][36] Silva retired in April 2025 and was replaced with Julie Fussner, the first female CEO of the company. She was previously the chief marketing officer, and had been with the company since 2017.[37][38][39]

Menu

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.[40][41][42]

The company released an April Fools' joke in 2021 showing a large fried cheese curd in a burger bun, naming it the CurderBurger.[43][44][45] Soon after the post was made, a change.org petition was created to make the burger a reality, gathering over 600 signatures.[46][47] 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.[48] Each location only got a limited number of cheese curd patties, and all Madison, Wisconsin restaurants sold out before noon.[49][50]

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.[51] Culver's also sponsors the WIAC baseball championship.[52] The company sponsored the movie Green and Gold in 2025.[53]

Official mascots

The official Culver's mascot is an anthropomorphic custard cone named Scoopie, featured in various advertisements, community events, and fundraisers.[54] Three new characters have been added: Curdis the Curd and Goldie the Curd in 2018 and Sundae the Turtle in 2022.[55][56]

See also

External links

References

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  2. C. A. Bridges. ButterBurgers, cheese curds, frozen mustard and more: 10 things to know about Culver's The Florida Times-Union, retrieved May 26, 2024^
  3. Daniel Higgins. Culver's just turned 34. Its butter burgers, custard are 'exporting Wisconsin' nationwide. The Post-Crescent, retrieved 2025-06-23^
  4. View All Locations Culver's, retrieved October 25, 2023^
  5. Danny Klein. Culver's Celebrates Opening of 1,000th Restaurant QSR Magazine, December 17, 2024, retrieved January 7, 2025^
  6. Craig Culver recalls Culver's origins Sun Prairie Star, January 31, 2013, retrieved February 7, 2015^
  7. Sherman Morrison. A Bit of Nostalgia: The Culver's Menu Franchise Chatter, January 20, 2015, retrieved July 27, 2016^
  8. C. Bridges. ButterBurgers, cheese curds, frozen custard and more: 10 things to know about Culver's The Florida Times-Union, May 10, 2021, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  9. Jake Vigliotti. The Untold Truth of Culver's mashed, February 3, 2023, 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^
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  13. Alyssa Allemand. What's the scoop on the origin of the Culver's franchise Wisconsin State Farmer, December 13, 2021, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  14. Rick Romell. Craig Culver to retire as CEO of restaurant chain Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 10, 2015, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  15. Barry Adams. Co-founder of Culver's to retire as CEO of the custard Wisconsin State Journal, February 10, 2015, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  16. Lindsay Christians. How Culver's created its take on the veggie burger The Cap Times, 2020-10-10, retrieved 2025-05-13^
  17. New design to save Culver's up to $150,000 per store QSR Web, April 13, 2006, retrieved March 23, 2015^
  18. Lynn Ducey. Smash hit: Gourmet burger places find meaty market in the Valley Phoenix Business Journal, February 24, 2012^
  19. Barbara Rattle. 400-unit restaurant chain to make Utah debut in Midvale Enterprise/Salt Lake City, July 2010^
  20. Adam Rittenberg. From cannabis to Chick-fil-A, former CFB coaches find new careers ESPN, July 30, 2018, retrieved July 31, 2018^
  21. Wisconsin-born restaurant chain Culver's finds its first spot in the Richmond market - Richmond BizSense richmondbizsense.com, 2026-02-13, retrieved 2026-03-28^
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  23. Michelle Stocker. Middleton's Blue Spoon Cafe Closes Wisconsin State Journal, August 26, 2010, retrieved March 23, 2015^
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  27. Melanie Lawder. Family-owned Culver's sells minority stake to Atlanta private equity firm Milwaukee Business Journal, October 16, 2017, retrieved December 19, 2023^
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  29. Culver's celebrates 40 years of business BusinessNorth, August 2, 2024, retrieved September 20, 2024^
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  31. Peter Romeo. Culvers' CEO Phil Keiser dies Restaurant Business, October 17, 2016, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  32. Jonathan Maze. Culver's names company veteran to CEO post Nation's Restaurant News, November 29, 2016, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  33. Bret Thorn. Culver Franchising System president and CEO Joe Koss to retire Nation's Restaurant News, September 18, 2020, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  34. Bob Sims. Culver's appoints Enrique 'Rick' Silva CEO Meat + Poultry, February 26, 2021, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  35. Ron Ruggless. Culver's Franchising names Rick Silva CEO Nation's Restaurant News, February 25, 2021, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  36. Sam Danley. Culver's names new CEO Food Business News, February 26, 2021, retrieved December 19, 2023^
  37. Chad Thompson. Culver's appoints Julie Fussner as first female CEO WXOW, April 28, 2025, retrieved May 1, 2025^
  38. Alicia Kelso. Culver's names Julie Fussner as CEO Nation's Restaurant News, April 28, 2025, retrieved May 1, 2025^
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  40. Dustin Nelson. Stop Ignoring the Best Regional Fast Food Chain in the Country Thrillist, February 19, 2020, retrieved September 9, 2021^
  41. Full Culver’s Menu – Updated Prices and Items 2025-05-22, retrieved 2025-05-22^
  42. Culver's Nutrition retrieved 2025-05-22^
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  51. Burger Chain Puts In Order For More Sponsorships IEG Sponsorship Report, March 9, 2009, retrieved May 10, 2019^
  52. 2019 WIAC Baseball Championship (Presented by Culver's) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, retrieved May 10, 2019^
  53. Linda Spice. Culver's backs 'Green and Gold' movie set for national release: Quick Bites Milwaukee Business Journal, December 30, 2024, retrieved March 15, 2025^
  54. McKenzie Kramer. LifeSource and Culver's Mascot, Scoopie, Promote Summer Blood Drive Chicago Tribune, July 1, 2013, retrieved July 27, 2016^
  55. Introducing the Cutest Curd Nerd: Curdis Culver's, retrieved June 19, 2020^
  56. Curd Is The Word Culver's, retrieved June 19, 2020^