Loving Great Quality
This customer loyalty seen in the Midwest did not occur on the East Coast when custard was first introduced. Schneider says once the East Coast began to neglect their product, it lost its flavor, which contributed to the western migration. Storeowners became too concerned about making profit and lost focus about the quality of their custard.
“If you don’t have the real product, people who have never had it won’t come back… and people that have had it, won’t buy if after a while if the product isn’t good,” says Schneider.
The focus on high quality products also led to Culver’s, one of the most recent additions to the Midwest’s custard culture.
According to Culver’s Director of Public Relations and Communications Paul Pitas, when Craig Culver was growing up, he loved going to Milwaukee for custard. When Culver decided to continue his family’s history in the restaurant business, he knew custard had to be on the menu along with his mother’s ButterBurger.
Culver, along with his parents and his wife, Lea, opened their first restaurant in July 1984 in their hometown of Sauk City, Wis. The first successful franchise opened six years later in Baraboo. Today, the signature blue logo can be seen in 19 states.
The restaurant’s success across the country can be attributed to the core Midwestern values of hospitality, community and quality seen at every Culver’s location. Each restaurant has a way of making you feel like you’re inside someone’s home, which is different from most fast food restaurants. The floors are carpeted and a cheery wooden trim is seen throughout the restaurant. Additionally, food is delivered to your table rather than picked up at the counter. With this sense of hospitality, Culver’s continues to spread custard across the country, something the owners never expected.
Interestingly though, their success has been spread mainly through word of mouth, Pitas says. Those interested in opening a Culver’s restaurant often contact the family themselves, rather than being sought out by the Culvers. But despite rapid expansion and success, the Culvers still manage to remain true to who they are.
“The thing that hasn’t changed, and probably will not change, is the commitment to cook to order,” says Pitas.
Like Leon’s and Gilles, Culver’s custard is made fresh daily, several times a day. The Culvers also emphasize fresh, never-frozen food, prepared only after customers have placed an order, meaning you’ll never see a frozen hamburger there.
Currently, 465 restaurants are scattered across the country, and the family-owned chain shows no sign of slowing down. The heaviest concentration of restaurants spans Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, but spreads as far as Ohio, Texas, Utah and, soon, South Carolina.
When entering cities unfamiliar with ButterBurgers and custard, part of the chain’s marketing technique is to educate customers about their business and tell them the Culver story.
Although some customers may have a longer personal relationship with custard, new connections and experiences are being created each day. Whether they occur at iconic stands in Milwaukee or a new restaurant in town, anyone tasting frozen custard is likely converted forever.
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