The restaurant business was in the genes of Craig Culver when he was born. His parents, George and Ruth, had owned three restaurants, one of which Craig turned into the first Culver’s in 1984 after managing a local McDonalds for two years. Craig renamed and rebranded hs parents A&W Rootbeer into the first Culver’s Frozen Custard and Butter Burgers in Sauk City, Wisconsin. It was a good move for him and a great decision for us who are fortunate to have their stores in our cities.
General Restaurant Information
Food Type: Hamburgers
Restaurant Type: Fast Food
U.S. Locations: 605
States: 24 states, Culver’s Locations
Company Slogan: Welcome to Delicious
Contact Information
Website: culvers.com
Questions: Contact Information
Phone number: 608-643-7980
Email: Contact Form Only
Blog: Culver’s Blog
FAQ Page: No
Ownership
Who Owns Culver’s? Culver’s Franchising System
Headquartered: Prairie du Sac, WI
Contact Information:
Website: culvers.com/franchise
Email/contact page: Contact Information
Phone: 833-224-7670
Address: 1240 Water Street, Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
Do They Franchise? Franchise Information
What Is It Like To Work At Culver’s?
3.7/5 or 74%; 2,000 Reviews (indeed.com)
3.7/5, or 74%; 722 Reviews (glassdoor.com)
The History of Culver’s
Original Location: 716 Phillips Blvd, Sauk City, Wisconsin
Founded: July 18, 1984
Founded By: Craig and Lea Culver
Biography Articles:
The Mom And Pop’ Family Values A Key Part Of The Restaurant Chain (host.madison.com)
My name is Curt, not Craig’: Culver brothers retire together (bizjournals.com)
Sauk Prairie couple has spent 30 years together (wiscnews.com)
Founder Obituary: Still Living
Name Origin: Last name of the founder, Craig Culver
History Page: Company History Page
Current View of Original Location: 716 Phillips Blvd as it is today (link may not work on mobile devices without Google Maps)
Historical Articles:
Our Story (culvers.com)
Culver Franchising System, Inc. (company-histories.com)
Social Awareness
Charity Focus: Employee Scholarships
Green | Eco-Friendly: Sustainability
Animal Cruelty: No resources found
Discounts At Culver’s
Rewards Program: Reward Program
Do Kids Eat Free?
What day do kids eat free? Daily, kind of.
Summary: At participating locations, kids 12 and under get a free custard with the purchase of a kids meal.
Do They Offer Military Discounts?
Summary: Participating locations (you should always find out ahead of time) offer a military discount as well as parking spots at the restaurant for veterans.
What Do They Offer For My Birthday!?
Summary: Members of the rewards program get a free treat on their birthday.
Does The Chain Offer First Responder Discounts?
Summary: No resources found
Does Culver’s Offer Senior Citizen | AARP Discounts?
Summary: Participating locations offer up to a 10% discount for those 60+ (call and find out if your store participates)
Are There Any Other Discounts or Benefits?
Summary: The butter burger chain offers Delicious Perks rewards program which has many perks available. To see what they are currently offering for discounts and promotions, check their reward page, Delicious Perks.
Amenities
Order Online: No
WiFi Available: Yes
Use Apple Pay: No
Reservations: No
Catering: No
Drive-Thru: Yes
Open 24 Hours: No
Customer Reviews of Culver’s
Yelp: 3.9/5 or 77%, 624 reviews sampled
Tripadvisor: 4.2/5 or 84%, 761 reviews sampled
Overall (weighted) Average: 4.05/5 or 81%, 1,385 reviews sampled
Culver's & Related Items on Amazon
Food & Nutrition
Menu: Culver’s Menu
Kids Menu: Kids Menu
Secret Menu: No resources found
Most Popular Menu Item: Delux & North Atlantic Cod Dinner
Coke or Pepsi: Pepsi
Serve Alcohol: No
Nutritional Information: Nutrition Guide
Vegetarian | Vegan Options:
145 Vegan Chain Restaurant Menus Every Vegan Needs to Know (urbantastebud.com)
Best Vegetarian Chain Restaurants: Midwest Fast-Food Edition (delishably.com)
Farm to Table | Organic Options | Clean | Non-GMO:
Behind Every Bite (culvers.com)
Sustainability: The First Step in Fresh Flavor is a Healthy Environment (culvers.com)
Miscellaneous Nutrition Resources:
Best & Worst Burger (eatthis.com)
It Starts Here: A Day On The Dairy Farm (culvers.com)
How to Eat Healthy (healthyliving.azcentral.com)
Nutritional Information (fatsecret.com) (fastfoodmenunutrition.com) (fastfoodnutrition.org) (nutrition-charts.com)
Allergy Information
Allergen Information: Allergen Guide
Gluten Free Options:
Gluten Free Bun & Comments on Gluten at Culvers (culvers.com)
What to Eat If You’re Gluten-Free (spoonuniversity.com)
Dairy Free Options:
Dairy Free Options (godairyfree.org)
Restaurant Guide For Dairy-Free Dining (godairyfree.org)
Peanut Free Options:
Peanut & Allergy Information (culvers.com)
Food Allergy Guides For Many Chain Restaurants (verywellhealth.com)
Ways to Eliminate Risks of Peanut Allergy When Dining Out (healthguidance.org)
Does Culver’s Have Any Secret Recipes?
Secret Recipes:
Butter Burgers (copykat.com), (foodnetwork.com), (blogchef.net)
23 Culver’s Copycat Recipes (tasteofhome.com)
Did You Know?
Fun Facts:
Hardees was their first big competitor (source)
The concept of butter burgers came from Craig’s mom, Ruth (source)
They are extremely generous. One example was when the franchise owner of a Platteville, WI paid his employees salaries out of his own pocket after the restaurant had caught fire. You can catch the video below. (source)
They have over 80 flavors of frozen custard (source)
Interesting Articles:
10 Things You Didn’t Know (thrillist.com)
A Dozen Dairy-Filled Facts (mentalfloss.com)
30 Years, the Frozen Custard and ButterBurger Chain (eater.com)
Roark Capital buys a stake (nrn.com)
CEO Phil Keiser dies (nrn.com)
Commercial targets Millennial mothers (nrn.com)
Not everything delivers: Saying no to delivery (nrn.com)
Culver's & Related Items on Amazon
Social Media
Followers (as of September 2018) –
Facebook: 2,203,147
Twitter: 40,000
Instagram: 54,600
Mobile Apps
Alternatives
Better Options: Coming Soon
Similar Restaurants:
In Summary
What a breath of fresh air Culver’s is. What is it about some restaurants (or companies) that have something special that you can feel when you walk in. Most all (chain) restaurants have that blah feeling. Your only hope is for good food, maybe a good experience and keep your expectations low. But, some restaurants raise the bar, and you know that any time you visit, you’re going to most likely have a great experience with good or excellent food. So much of it is the culture the restaurant breeds, and you can feel the difference in the employees that work there. There is a sense of happiness and joy even in the midst of working in a difficult restaurant environment. They and the few others raise the expectations you have when you go out to eat, and after realizing you can’t get that level of quality and service at most chains, you return again and again to the few that do so well.
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