Culver 's - wikipedia Culver 's Culver Franchising System, Inc. `` Family Farm Fresh '' Type Private Industry Fast food restaurants Founded 1984 ; 34 years ago ( 1984 ) in Sauk City, Wisconsin Founders Craig and Lea Culver George and Ruth Culver Headquarters Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, United States Number of locations 655 ( 2018 ) Area served Midwestern United States Key people Joe Koss ( CEO ) Craig Culver ( Chairman ) Products `` Butterburgers '', frozen custard, cheese curds, chicken sandwiches, fish, french fries, salads Website culvers.com Culver Franchising System, Inc., doing business as Culver 's, is a privately owned and operated casual fast food restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Midwestern United States. Culver 's opened its first restaurant in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, and is currently headquartered in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. As of 28 March 2018, the chain had 655 restaurants across the United States, and 18 coming soon in 9 states. Contents 1 History 1.1 Wisconsin 1.2 Midwest 1.3 Beyond the Midwest 1.4 Future expansion 1.5 Venture into casual dining 2 Sponsorships 3 Official mascot 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History Sauk City restaurateurs and spouses 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. 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. After selling their restaurants and quitting their jobs, George, Ruth, Craig and his wife Lea opened the first Culver 's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers on July 18, 1984. Craig led the company from its inception until 2015. In October 2017, Culver 's corporation sold a minority share to Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Culver family retains majority ownership. Wisconsin Culver 's of Onalaska, Wisconsin featuring the traditional blue metal roof In 1987, the Culvers were approached about franchising a restaurant in nearby Richland Center. The Culvers 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 Culvers 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 Madison and Milwaukee areas. 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 1996. In February 1997, the company opened the first Culver 's outside the Midwest in Texas. Number of Culver 's per state, as of September 2017. Beyond the Midwest The current franchising strategy is one of contiguous expansion at a pace of about 40 new stores per year. 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. In 2008, Culver 's expanded to the Phoenix metropolitan area. As of July 2017, Arizona had 26 locations. At the end of 2011, 445 Culver 's restaurants were open in 19 states. Culver 's also opened in South Carolina in 2012, Florida and Georgia in 2014, and North Carolina in 2015. 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. Future expansion The Metro - 98 prototype, developed in 2006 and first constructed in Fort Dodge, Iowa, is 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 reduces the amount of land needed for construction by around 20 %. 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. 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. Sponsorships Culver 's sponsors sports teams including the St. Cloud Rox, Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Admirals, Iowa Hawkeyes, Minnesota Wild, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Cubs. Official mascot The official Culver 's mascot is an anthropomorphic custard cone named Scoopie, who is featured in various advertisements and community events. See also List of frozen custard companies List of hamburger restaurants References Jump up ^ `` Culver 's Fact Sheet '' ( PDF ). Culver 's Public Relations and Communications Department. Retrieved March 22, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Craig Culver recalls Culver 's origins ''. Hometown News LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2015. Jump up ^ Morrison, Sherman ( January 20, 2015 ). `` A Bit of Nostalgia : The Culver 's Menu ''. Franchise Chatter. Retrieved July 27, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` The Culver 's Story '' ( PDF ). Culver 's Public Relations and Communications Department. Retrieved March 14, 2018. Jump up ^ Rick Romell. `` Craig Culver to retire as CEO of restaurant chain ''. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 10, 2015. Jump up ^ Judy Newman. `` Atlanta investment firm scoops up Culver 's stock ''. Wisconsin State Journal, October 14, 2017. Jump up ^ Melanie Lawder. `` Family - owned Culver 's sells minority stake to Atlanta private equity firm ''. Milwaukee Business Journal, October 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Restaurant Locator ''. Culver 's. Retrieved August 13, 2017. Jump up ^ Ducey, Lynn ( February 24, 2012 ). `` Smash hit : Gourmet burger places find meaty market in the Valley ''. Phoenix Business Journal. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ Rattle, Barbara ( July 2010 ). `` 400 - unit restaurant chain to make Utah debut in Midvale ''. Enterprise / Salt Lake City. 40 ( 3 ) : 1. Jump up ^ `` New design to save Culver 's up to $150,000 per store ''. QSR Web. April 13, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Stevens, Shannon ( April 11, 1999 ). `` Culver 's to go upscale with Blue Spoon Creamery Cafe ''. Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Stocker, Michelle ( August 26, 2010 ). `` Middleton 's Blue Spoon Cafe Closes ''. Capital Times. Retrieved March 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Kramer, McKenzie ( July 1, 2013 ). `` LifeSource and Culver 's Mascot, Scoopie, Promote Summer Blood Drive ''. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 27, 2016. External links Culver 's website hide Fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the United States Chicken chains Coffeehouse chains Pizza chains Hamburgers A&W Arctic Circle Back Yard Big Boy BurgerFi Burger King Carl 's Jr. Checkers / Rally 's Cook Out Cheeburger Cheeburger Dairy Queen Fatburger Five Guys Freddy 's Fuddruckers The Habit Hardee 's Hwy 55 In - N - Out Jack in the Box Johnny Rockets Krystal McDonald 's Red Robin Roy Rogers Shake Shack Smashburger Sonic Steak ' n Shake Wayback Wendy 's Whataburger White Castle Asian L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Manchu Wok Panda Express Pei Wei Asian Diner P.F. Chang 's China Bistro Pick Up Stix Baked goods Au Bon Pain Auntie Anne 's Bruegger 's Cheesecake Factory Cinnabon Corner Bakery Cafe Duck Donuts Dunkin ' Donuts Einstein Bros. Great American Cookies Honey Dew Donuts Insomnia Cookies Krispy Kreme Mrs. Fields Nestlé Toll House Panera Bread Pretzelmaker / Pretzel Time Shipley Do - Nuts Tim Hortons T.J. Cinnamons Wetzel 's Winchell 's Beverages Argo Tea Biggby Coffee Caribou Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Coffee Beanery Dunn Bros Gloria Jean 's Heine Brothers ' Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea Jamba Juice Juice It Up ! Orange Julius Peet 's Planet Smoothie Robeks Seattle 's Best Coffee Smoothie King Starbucks Tropical Smoothie Cafe Tully 's Frozen desserts Baskin - Robbins Ben & Jerry 's Braum 's Bruster 's Carvel Cold Stone Creamery Culver 's Dairy Queen Dippin ' Dots Fosters Freeze Friendly 's Golden Spoon Graeter 's Häagen - Dazs Handel 's MaggieMoo 's Marble Slab Menchie 's Oberweis Pinkberry Red Mango Rita 's Sweet Frog Tastee - Freez TCBY Tropical Sno Tutti Frutti Yogen Früz Yogurtland Hot dogs Hot Dog on a Stick Nathan 's Famous Portillo 's Wienerschnitzel Mexican - style / Tex - Mex Baja Fresh Cafe Rio Chipotle Del Taco El Pollo Loco Freebirds Green / Red Burrito La Salsa Moe 's Pancheros Qdoba Rubio 's Taco Bell Taco Bueno Taco Cabana Taco del Mar Taco John 's Taco Mayo Taco Time Tijuana Flats Wahoo 's Fish Taco Other Fazoli 's The Halal Guys Hooters Noodles & Company Sbarro Skyline Chili Sandwiches Arby 's Atlanta Bread Blimpie Capriotti 's Charley 's Così Cousins D'Angelo Daphne 's Erbert & Gerbert 's Firehouse Subs Great Wraps Jason 's Jerry 's Subs Jersey Mike 's Jimmy John 's Lee 's Sandwiches Lenny 's Sub McAlister 's Deli Miami Subs Newk 's Eatery Penn Station Port of Subs Potbelly Primo Hoagies Quiznos Rax Sandella 's Schlotzsky 's Steak Escape Subway Togo 's Tubby 's Tudor 's Biscuit World Which Wich ? Seafood Arthur Treacher 's Captain D 's H. Salt Esquire Ivar 's Long John Silver 's Red Lobster Skippers Seafood & Chowder House Defunct Bresler 's Brigham 's Burger Chef Carrols D'Lites Druther 's Henry 's Hamburgers Hot ' n Now Hot Sam Pretzels Naugles Red Barn Sandy 's Teavana White Tower Zantigo Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culver%27s&oldid=837943905 '' Categories : Companies based in Wisconsin Restaurants in Wisconsin Economy of the Midwestern United States Fast - food chains of the United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1984 Fast casual restaurants Hamburger restaurants Ice cream parlors Restaurant franchises Frozen custard Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Use mdy dates from March 2018 Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles containing potentially dated statements from March 2018 All articles containing potentially dated statements All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Simple English Edit links This page was last edited on 23 April 2018, at 23 : 59. 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Question: how many culver's are there in the united states
Answer: 655