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 largepolished metal spatula to pressthe 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 birthdayJuly 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 asNew York-based Shake Shack and California's In-N-Out Burger.
But Culver's tops both in annual sales– $1.43billionlastyear, compared to Shake Shack's $359million and In-N-Out's $908million, according to the Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report 2018 by Technomics, a restaurant and food service research company.
Culver'sranks 42nd overall, beating other regional stalwarts White Castle($547million), 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'tpart of the plan.
That plan begins in 1984 when Cluver, 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 hada greatview 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. Itwas 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 restaurant in the world, andwe’re proud of it.”
Though it's not out to break speed records,Culver's is a true-blue performer. The average Culver's generatedabout $2.2million 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 2016is partly due to adding new restaurants,don't discount the importance of its Wisconsin-ness.
As Culver's CEOJoseph Kossputs it: "We've taken this Wisconsin hospitality and bring it to all the markets we come to."
To make it happen, Craig and Lea Culverput 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 upshe 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 afriend when Culver says thelight 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 wasthe model for Arnold's on the TV show “Happy Days.” Its frozen custard is patterned after an Oshkoshdrive-in from Craig Culver’s college days. And, of course, there arecheese 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 servesthe second variety. They've even trademarked ButterBurger.
"We weren’t sure what a butter burger was going to bebut decided we’d butter and toast the bun,” Culver says. “It’s really an old tavern-style burger, using fresh beef we press into a hot grill. It took us a couple of weeks after opening to figure that out."
Frozen custard: It's sort of like ice cream
Frozen custard didn’t need figuringout, though a little unintended marketing didn’t hurt.
“My father would take a pint or quart down to the bank when making a deposit and give it to the tellers,” Culver recalled. “We didn’t think of it at the time as marketing, but it really was.”
Today, Culver’s features a flavor of the day. Though it started more as a flavor of the week. Caramel pecan – still Craig’sfavorite– wasthefirstbig seller.
"The custard piece is a different twist," Henkes said. "That's a uniquely Wisconsin thing."
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.
Culver, though retired from the CEO role, plays a vital role in the company as chairman of the board, spokesman and mentor.
Koss started as a controller 21 years ago and worked his way up to CFO before taking over as head of the Culver's franchise.
As the person whose job is to watch the bottom line, Koss says one of his greatest experiences has been to see a teenager with apart-time Culver's job go on to becomea franchisee.
"I think the entire Culver family has created the culture," Koss said. "It is the most important part as far as our growth."
