Culver's: History, Key Facts and Reviews

1961-1984: from an A&W stand to the first Culver’s in Sauk City

Culver’s opened on July 18, 1984, in Sauk City, Wisconsin, on a lot the Culver family had owned two decades earlier (Culver’s press kit). George and Ruth Culver had bought an A&W Root Beer stand there in 1961 and sold it in 1968 to run the Farm Kitchen resort at Devil’s Lake, where their son Craig met his future wife, Lea. Craig graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh in 1973 and worked at McDonald’s before returning to the family restaurants. In 1984 the old A&W property came up for sale and the family bought it back. They paired frozen custard, a treat they used to drive to Milwaukee for, with burgers. The name came from Ruth’s habit of buttering the top of the bun and toasting it on the grill: the ButterBurger. The first year was close to failure, Craig later told Wisconsin Public Radio, because nobody knew what a ButterBurger or frozen custard was.

1987-1999: franchising and the first restaurants outside Wisconsin

Culver’s grew through franchising from 1990, after a false start. Culver Franchising System was set up in 1987, the year a second restaurant opened in Reedsburg, but the first franchise deal did not last. The first successful franchised restaurant opened in Baraboo in December 1990. In 1993 the chain still had only 14 restaurants, all in southern Wisconsin (Wikipedia). It crossed the state line in September 1995 with Buffalo, Minnesota, reached Texas in 1998 and opened offices and a training center in Prairie du Sac in 1999.

2000-2017: the move south and a minority investor

Culver’s spread from the Midwest toward the South and the West in the 2000s. In 2009 the company moved into a 47,000-square-foot support center in Prairie du Sac. By the end of 2011 it had 445 restaurants in 19 states, and it entered Florida, Georgia and Tennessee in 2014. Craig Culver stepped down as chief executive in 2015. In October 2017 Roark Capital bought a minority stake, while the family kept control.

2018-2026: past 1,000 restaurants

Culver’s crossed 1,000 restaurants in April 2025, when Julie Fussner became its first female CEO. At the end of 2025 it had 1,041 restaurants, 1,034 franchised and 7 company-owned, 44 more than a year earlier, and $4.2 billion in US systemwide sales (QSR 50 2026). Each restaurant averaged $4.04 million in sales, against $1.5 million at Sonic. In September 2026 it added the Smoked Cheddar CurderBurger, covered in our roundup of new burgers in 2026. To visit, see our guide to Culver’s in Milwaukee, or cook the Sourdough Melt copycat at home.

Key dates

• 1961: George and Ruth Culver buy an A&W stand in Sauk City.
• 1984: the first Culver’s Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers opens on July 18.
• 1990: the first successful franchise opens in Baraboo, Wisconsin.
• 1995: first restaurant outside Wisconsin, in Buffalo, Minnesota.
• 2017: Roark Capital takes a minority stake.
• 2025: Culver’s passes 1,000 restaurants and ends the year with 1,041.