Culver's

Last updated

Culver Franchising System, LLC
Culver's
Company type Private
Industry Fast food restaurants
FoundedJuly 18, 1984;39 years ago (1984-07-18) in Sauk City, Wisconsin
Founders
  • Craig and Lea Culver
  • George and Ruth Culver
Headquarters Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, United States
Number of locations
965 (April 2024)
Area served
26 U.S. states, mainly in the Midwest
Key people
Products Hamburgers, frozen custard, milkshakes, cheese curds, chicken sandwiches, fish, french fries, salads
RevenueIncrease2.svg $3.2 billion
OwnerCulver family
Number of employees
25,000 [1]
Website www.culvers.com

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 965 restaurants in 26 states [2] as of May 2024.

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. [3] [4] [5] 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. [6] [7] In July 18, 1984, George, Ruth, son Craig, and his wife Lea opened the first Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers in Sauk City, Wisconsin. [8] [9] [10] Craig was CEO of Culver's from its inception until mid-2015. [11] [12]

On June 15, 2015, Phil Keiser became the second CEO of the franchise, until his death in October 2016. [13] [14] On January 1, 2017, Joe Koss became the third CEO of Culver's, until his retirement at the end of 2020. [15] [16] [17] [18]

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. [19] [20]

On March 29, 2021, Enrique 'Rick' Silva became the fourth CEO of Culver's. [21] [22] [23]

Wisconsin

A Culver's counter in Milwaukee Vice President Pence in WI (49391403211).jpg
A Culver's counter in Milwaukee

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 Culver's Drive-Thru Restaurant Menu.jpg
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.

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

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-seater 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%. [24]

In 2008, Culver's expanded to the Phoenix metropolitan area. [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. [26]

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 [27] in 2014; and North Carolina in 2015. On June 28, 2018, Culver's had announced that a location will 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. [28] 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. [29] The Prairie du Sac location closed in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. [30] [31]

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." [12]

Culver's Double Butterburger with Cheddar Culver's Double Butterburger with Cheddar.jpg
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. [32]

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. [33] On April 1, Culver's released an April Fools' joke showing a large fried cheese curd in a burger bun, naming it the CurderBurger. [34] [35] [36] Soon after the post was made, a change.org petition was created to make the burger a reality, gathering over 600 signatures. [37] [38] Each location only got a limited number of cheese curd patties, and all Madison, Wisconsin, restaurants sold out before noon. [39] [40]

Sponsorships

Culver's sponsors sports teams, including the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, 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. [41] Culver's also sponsors the WIAC baseball championship. [42]

Official mascot

The official Culver's mascot is an anthropomorphic custard cone named Scoopie, featured in various advertisements, community events, and fundraisers. [43] Along the way, three new characters were added: Curdis the Curd, Goldie the Curd and Sundae the turtle. [44] [45]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of the Midwestern United States</span> Regional cuisine of the United States

The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburger</span> Food consisting of a beef patty between rounded buns

A hamburger, also called a burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon or chilis with condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish or a "special sauce", often a variation of Thousand Island dressing and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger patty topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King</span> Global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in Florida

Burger King Corporation is an American multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton (1927–2018) and James McLamore (1926–1996) purchased the company in 1959 and renamed it "Burger King". Over the next half-century, the company changed hands four times and its third set of owners, a partnership between TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, took it public in 2002. In late 2010, 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in the company in a deal valued at US$3.26 billion. The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes. 3G, along with its partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheese curd</span> Unaged curdled milk product

Cheese curds are moist pieces of curdled milk, eaten either alone as a snack, or used in prepared dishes. They are most often consumed throughout the northern United States and Canada. Notably, cheese curds are popular in Quebec, as part of the dish poutine, and in Wisconsin and Minnesota where they can be served breaded and deep fried. Curds are sometimes referred to as "squeaky cheese" or fromage en grain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frozen custard</span> Frozen dessert

Frozen custard is a frozen dessert that is a type of ice cream that is made with egg yolks in addition to cream and sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and an additional flavoring such as cocoa, vanilla, or fruit such as strawberries or peaches. It is usually kept at a warmer temperature compared to ice cream, and typically has a denser consistency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Castle (restaurant)</span> American fast food restaurant chain

White Castle is an American regional hamburger restaurant chain with 345 locations across 13 states, with its greatest presence in the Midwest and New York metropolitan area. Founded on September 13, 1921, in Wichita, Kansas, it has been generally credited as the world's first fast-food hamburger chain. It is known for its small, square hamburgers referred to as "sliders". The burgers were initially priced at five cents until 1929 and remained at 10 cents until 1949. In the 1940s, White Castle periodically ran promotional ads in local newspapers which contained coupons offering five burgers for ten cents, takeout only. In 2014, Time named the White Castle slider "The Most Influential Burger of All Time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotteria</span> South Korean fast food restaurant chain

LOTTERIA is a South Korean company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants in East Asia, having opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in September 1972. Taking its name from its parent company, Lotte Corporation, it currently has franchises in Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The origin of the name is a combination of corporate names Lotte and Cafeteria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers</span> American fast-food restaurant

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, or simply Freddy's, is an American fast-casual restaurant chain based in Wichita, Kansas. Its menu includes steakburgers, Vienna Beef hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches. The company also provides frozen custard and specialty sundaes

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sizzler</span> American restaurant chain

Sizzler USA Restaurants, Inc., doing business as Sizzler, is a United States-based restaurant chain with headquarters in Mission Viejo, California, with locations mainly in California, plus some in the nearby states of Washington, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Puerto Rico. It is known for steak, seafood, and salad bar items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colby-Jack</span> American variety of cheese

Colby-Jack, or Co-jack/Cojack, is an American marble cheese made from Colby and Monterey Jack. It is classified as semi-hard in texture and is mild due to its two-week aging process. It is generally sold in a full-moon or a half-moon shape when it is young. The flavor of Colby-Jack is mild to mellow. Colby-Jack cheese is mainly produced in the states of Wisconsin and California. It is used in various dishes or as a topping to be melted. These dishes include burgers, pasta bakes, macaroni and cheese, casseroles and so on. It is predominantly used in the United States, and is not readily available internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shake Shack</span> American fast casual burger restaurant

Shake Shack is an American fast casual restaurant chain based in New York City. It started out as a hot dog cart inside Madison Square Park in 2001, and its popularity steadily grew. In 2004, it received a permit to open a permanent kiosk within the park, expanding its menu from New York–style hot dogs to one with hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and its namesake milkshakes.

Kahala Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based MTY Food Group Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kahala is one of North America's largest holding company of franchise fast food restaurant companies. In May 2016, the publicly traded Canadian MTY Food Group announced a friendly takeover deal with the Kahala Brands. MTY agreed to pay about US$300 million to acquire Kahala. The two companies generated nearly $2 billion in revenues in the previous year. Jeff Smit was chosen to lead the US operations of MTY.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendy's</span> American international fast food chain

Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On September 29, 2008, the company merged with Triarc Companies Inc., the publicly traded parent company of Arby's; Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Triarc then became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company following the sale of Arby's to Roark Capital Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuisine of Wisconsin</span> Food and drinks from Wisconsin

The cuisine of Wisconsin is a type of Midwestern cuisine found throughout the state of Wisconsin in the United States of America. Known as "America's Dairyland", Wisconsin is famous for its cheese as well as other dairy products, such as cheese curds and frozen custard. Other notable foods common to the region include bratwursts, beer and brandy Old Fashioned cocktails, butter burgers, fish fries and fish boils, cranberries, and booyah stew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast casual restaurant</span> Type of restaurant

A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concept between fast food and casual dining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirby Café</span> Restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan

Kirby Café is a restaurant chain in Japan, themed around Kirby, the Nintendo video game character and franchise. The chain currently comprises two permanent locations—one within the special ward of Sumida City in the Solamachi entertainment complex, the other within Hakata-ku in the Canal City Hakata entertainment complex—and a number of temporary locations which have run continuously since August 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave's Hot Chicken</span> Nashville-style fried chicken restaurant chain

Dave's Hot Chicken is an American fast casual restaurant chain specializing in Nashville-style hot chicken.

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. 1 2 "View All Locations". Culver's. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Craig Culver recalls Culver's origins". Sun Prairie Star . January 31, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ Morrison, Sherman (January 20, 2015). "A Bit of Nostalgia: The Culver's Menu". Franchise Chatter. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ Vigliotti, Jake (February 3, 2023). "The Untold Truth of Culver's". mashed. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  7. ↑ "How Craig Culver Built A Thriving Restaurant Chain". WUWM . August 27, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Culver's". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  9. ↑ Taschler, Joe (March 7, 2019). "Wisconsin food: Culver's grows to 700 stores in 25 states". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Allemand, Alyssa (December 13, 2021). "What's the scoop on the origin of the Culver's franchise". Wisconsin State Farmer . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Romell, Rick (February 10, 2015). "Craig Culver to retire as CEO of restaurant chain". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  12. 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.
  13. ↑ Lamoreaux, Kim (February 25, 2015). "Keiser focused on brand as new Culver's CEO". WISC-TV . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Romeo, Peter (October 17, 2016). "Culvers' CEO Phil Keiser dies". Restaurant Business . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  15. ↑ Maze, Jonathan (November 29, 2016). "Culver's names company veteran to CEO post". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ Romeo, Peter (November 29, 2016). "Culver's names a new CEO". Restaurant Business . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  17. ↑ Thorn, Bret (September 18, 2020). "Culver Franchising System president and CEO Joe Koss to retire". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  18. ↑ Maze, Jonathan (September 18, 2020). "Joe Koss is retiring as Culver's CEO". Restaurant Business . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  19. ↑ Newman, Judy (October 14, 2017). "Atlanta investment firm scoops up Culver's stock" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ Lawder, Melanie (October 16, 2017). "Family-owned Culver's sells minority stake to Atlanta private equity firm". Milwaukee Business Journal . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  21. ↑ Sims, Bob (February 26, 2021). "Culver's appoints Enrique 'Rick' Silva CEO". Meat + Poultry. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  22. ↑ Ruggless, Ron (February 25, 2021). "Culver's Franchising names Rick Silva CEO". Nation's Restaurant News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  23. ↑ Danley, Sam (February 26, 2021). "Culver's names new CEO". Food Business News . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  24. ↑ "New design to save Culver's up to $150,000 per store". QSR Web. April 13, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  25. ↑ Ducey, Lynn (February 24, 2012). "Smash hit: Gourmet burger places find meaty market in the Valley". Phoenix Business Journal.
  26. ↑ Rattle, Barbara (July 2010). "400-unit restaurant chain to make Utah debut in Midvale". Enterprise/Salt Lake City. 40 (3): 1.
  27. ↑ Rittenberg, Adam (July 30, 2018). "From cannabis to Chick-fil-A, former CFB coaches find new careers". ESPN.com . Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  28. ↑ Stevens, Shannon (April 11, 1999). "Culver's to go upscale with Blue Spoon Creamery Cafe" . Milwaukee Business Journal . Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  29. ↑ Stocker, Michelle (August 26, 2010). "Middleton's Blue Spoon Cafe Closes" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  30. ↑ 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.
  31. ↑ "Culver's: Pandemic leads to permanent closure of Blue Spoon Cafe". WKOW.com. May 2, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  32. ↑ Nelson, Dustin (February 19, 2020). "Stop Ignoring the Best Regional Fast Food Chain in the Country". Thrillist. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  33. ↑ Flury, Jade (October 16, 2020). "Culver's sells out of Curderburger". WSAW. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Culver's Cheese Curd Burger Was an April Fool's Joke & Now It's Real". Thrillist. September 29, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  35. ↑ 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.
  36. ↑ 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.
  37. ↑ Thomas, Rob (September 29, 2021). "The Culver's Curderburger is real, and it's coming Oct. 15" . Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved September 30, 2021.
  38. ↑ Staff, V1 (September 29, 2021). "Cheese Curd + Butterburger = Curderburger. And Yes, This Time It's Real". volumeone.org. Retrieved October 1, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  39. ↑ 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.
  40. ↑ Simon, Alexandra (October 15, 2021). "You'll have to act fast if you want to try Culver's CurderBurger". kare11.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Burger Chain Puts In Order For More Sponsorships". IEG Sponsorship Report. March 9, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  42. ↑ "2019 WIAC Baseball Championship (Presented by Culver's)". wiacsports.com. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  43. ↑ Kramer, McKenzie (July 1, 2013). "LifeSource and Culver's Mascot, Scoopie, Promote Summer Blood Drive". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Introducing the Cutest Curd Nerd: Curdis". Culver's. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  45. ↑ "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.