Culver’s becomes a fast-food force
Midwestern powerhouse expanding its outlook
PRAIRIE DU SAC, Wis. – A hunk of fresh ground beef hits the hot flat-top grill in the test kitchen at Culver’s headquarters.
Craig Culver, 68, uses a large polished metal spatula to press the beef into perfectly round patties. That grill isn’t quite hot enough, by the way, he comments.
When gray edges form around the patties,they’re ready to flip. The flip reveals a layer caked with crispy bits.
“That’s exactly what we’re looking for,” Culver says.
Culver can’t even estimate the number of burgers he has flipped since founding the first Culver’s with his wife, Lea, and his parents, George and Ruth. The chain, which celebrated its 34th birthday July 18, has become known for its burgers, cheese curds and frozen custard.
It is the Midwest’s answer to regional chains that get national attention, such as New York-based Shake Shack and California’s In-N-Out Burger.
But Culver’s tops both in annual sales – $1.43 billion last year, compared to Shake Shack’s $359 million and In-N- Out’s $908 million, according to the Top
500 Chain Restaurant Report 2018 by Technomics, a restaurant and food service research company.
Culver’s ranks 42nd overall, beating other regional stalwarts White Castle
($547 million), Steak ’n Shake ($1.09 billion) and Waffle House ($1.33 billion), too.
Opening more than 655 restaurants in 24 states – more than 130 alone are in its home state of Wisconsin – bearing the family’s name initially wasn’t part of the plan.
That plan begins in 1984 when Culver, having graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and having had stints as a manager at various fast-food chains, stood in a former A&W Root Beer building in Sauk City, Wisconsin, that would become the first Culver’s.
It had a great view of the nearby Hardee’s and a Dairy Queen.
It took three years for the first Culver’s to turn a profit.
“It was like throwing a party and nobody ever came,” Culver says of those early days. “Nobody knew who we were. It was slim pickings.”
Early to the ‘fast casual’ trend
Culver’s was a fast-casual eatery – 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.
“We were a pioneer in that,” Culver says.
“We wanted to make it to order. I like to call us the slowest fast-food restau- rant in the world, and we’re proud of it.”
Though it’s not out to break speed records, Culver’s is a true-blue performer. The average Culver’s generated about $2.2 million in sales per unit last year, according to the Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report 2018 by Technomics, while McDonald’s grabbed $2.6 million per restaurant.
David Henkes, a senior principal at Technomic, says while Culver’s near 10 percent sales increase over 2016 is partly due to adding new restaurants, don’t discount the importance of its Wisconsin-ness.
As Culver’s CEO Joseph Koss puts it: “We’ve taken this Wisconsin hospitality and bring it to all the markets we come to.”
To make it happen, Craig and Lea Culver put in the long hours restaurant life demands while still finding time to raise their three daughters. Mandy Culver, the middle child, whose birthday falls on the anniversary of the first restaurant’s opening, jokes that growing up she thought her dad wore french-fry cologne.
Inspired by TV’s ‘Happy Days’
Culver knew butter burgers would be a hit from the times when his family operated a supper club. He was talking with a friend when Culver says the light bulb went off in his head. If he ever had his own restaurant, he was going to serve butter burgers.
Culver’s butter burgers were inspired by a Milwaukee drive-in that was the model for Arnold’s on the TV show “Happy Days.” Its frozen custard is patterned after an Oshkosh drive-in from Craig Culver’s college days. And, of course, there are cheese curds.
Wisconsin is home to two kinds of butter burgers:
❚ Butter burgers served with generous pats of butter melting between toasted buns and hot beef patties.
❚ Butter burgers built with a toasted buttered bun atop freshly pressed ground beef patties.
Culver’s serves the second variety. They’ve even trademarked ButterBurger.
It’s menu has resonated around the country. Culver’s has all the pieces in place to expand into every state from coast to coast, Henkes says.