Craig Culver began a Wisconsin favorite in Sauk City 40 years ago, and his chain is bringing it back to where it all started to celebrate the milestone on Thursday.
The first Culver’s location opened in Sauk City on July 18, 1984. Today, the restaurant known for its ButterBurgers and custard has 980 locations in 26 states.
Culver's founder and Sauk City native Craig Culver shows the stone monument dedicated to the first Culver's, which opened in Sauk City on July 18, 1984. The current restaurant at the location opened on April 27, 2000.
The owner and other Culver’s officials are going back to their roots with a Thursday morning block party celebration at the Sauk City restaurant at 716 Phillips Blvd., which was built in 2000 in place of the original 1984 restaurant.
“It feels like something that I never dreamt of,” Culver said of his restaurant’s success. “When we opened one restaurant, even when we opened our second restaurant, I never dreamt of something like this.”
Thursday’s event will be from 10 a.m. to noon, and Culver and his ex-wife, Lea Culver, will give speeches. Residents of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac and others will receive custard for 89 cents and free cake until it is gone.
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Yard games, giveaways and a historical display will also be there, and a commemorative painting will be done during the event.
All Culver’s restaurants nationwide will donate funds from sales on July 18 to a charity of their choice. The Sauk City Culver’s is donating to the Sauk Prairie School District.
Steve Jorgensen, left, an assistant manager at the Sauk City Culver's, takes a lunch order from Eau Claire resident John Pattermann. The first Culver's location is now one of 980 locations across the U.S. and is celebrating 40 years in business with a block party Thursday morning.
Locations in Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton are donating to Dells area food nonprofit Happy Kids Network. The Baraboo restaurant is giving to People Helping People, a job-training and food bank program in the city. The Portage Fire Department will receive proceeds from the Culver’s in Portage, and the Mauston location is donating to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Culver expressed gratitude to his employees and franchisees for his restaurant’s growth since 1984, saying “it takes a team of dedicated people, and we have had that over the years.”
The Sauk City location began as a roadside A&W car service stand that Craig Culver’s father, George Culver, purchased in 1961. It was open during warmer months of the year, Craig Culver said.
“My parents were a great example for all of us,” he said of George and Ruth Culver, his mother.
In 1968, the Culvers sold the stand before repurchasing it in 1976, he added, saying the original stand burned down under the previous ownership and was rebuilt as a sit-down restaurant. The Culvers sold the A&W restaurant again in 1982 before Craig Culver bought it back two years later after owning a Baraboo supper club for two years.
Craig Culver bought the Sauk City stand again after selling the supper club, removed the A&W franchise, and Culver’s was born on July 18, 1984.
A wall inside the Sauk City Culver's commemorates the franchise for its service throughout the years. Culver's is celebrating its 40th anniversary in business with a block party Thursday at the Sauk City restaurant, its first location.
He said that the restaurant “lost lots of money” during its first year in business before breaking even in its second.
“We couldn’t have done it without the support of the community,” Culver said of Sauk City, adding that Culver’s did not generate net profits until its third year in business. “We almost didn’t make it. I credit my family for sticking to it and doing whatever it took. Working early in the morning to late at night, seven days a week.”
Culver’s first opened outside of Wisconsin in Rockton, Illinois, in the early 2000s. Craig Culver said Culver’s has taken “that Wisconsin nice” to 25 other states, adding that every new franchise opening is “a big deal” to him.
“We celebrate a little bit, but the next day, we’re back at it,” Culver said regarding the upcoming celebration. “One thing I have always said, ‘Can’t forget how we got to where we are.’”
