Culver’s

Ownership

In 2017, Roark Capital bought a minority stake while the Culver family maintains majority ownership. The company is a franchise system with a corporate parent, making it a national franchise with partial private equity involvement.

Local Sourcing

A majority of the franchise's dairy comes from Wisconsin creameries, including butter, cheese, and cheese curds, while Culver's gets its beef from the Midwest. Every Cheese Curd served comes from a Wisconsin dairy farm.

Community Involvement

Franchisees are members of their communities and look for opportunities to support through fundraising events, donations and sponsorships. Since 2013, Culver's and guests have donated more than $8 million through the Thank You Farmers Project.

Local Workforce

Culver's has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars based on 3,274 company reviews on Glassdoor, indicating most employees have a good working experience. However, reviews show mixed feedback on wages and management, with some citing low pay and others praising the environment.

Revenue Retention

The majority of Culver's restaurants are independently owned and operated by franchisees. Revenue flows to corporate through royalties (4% of sales) and brand fund fees (2.5%), but franchisees retain significant margins, with estimated earnings of $443,223-$554,029 annually on average.

Local Presence

While the site includes the owner name (Susan Bulgrin), local address, and Madison/WI references, it is overwhelmingly dominated by corporate boilerplate: franchise disclosure, corporate careers portal, parent company copyright (Culver Franchising System, LLC), cookie-cutter template structure, and multi-location navigation. The local signals are minimal and embedded within a standard franchise framework.