[update][4] Sauk City restaurateurs and husband and wife team 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.

[8][9] On July 18, 1984, George, Ruth, their son Craig, and his wife Lea opened the first Culver's Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers in Sauk City, Wisconsin.

[17][18] In October 2017, Culver's sold a minority share to Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm based in Atlanta.

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.

Soon after, the increased recognition that the second store earned this small-town chain prompted expansion into the Middleton, Madison and Milwaukee areas.

Culver's first restaurants outside Wisconsin opened in Buffalo, Minnesota, in September 1995, Roscoe, Illinois, in December 1995, and Dubuque, Iowa, in November 1997.

The Metro-98 prototype, developed in 2006 and first constructed in Fort Dodge, Iowa, was much more compact than the traditional 120-seat format commonly built through much of Culver's expansion.

"[14] Culver's menu comprises butter burgers, chicken sandwiches, fish, salads, french fries, and cheese curds.

For dessert, the restaurant offers its frozen custard, served in either a dish, cone, or blended into a concrete mixer or shake.

[44] The official Culver's mascot is an anthropomorphic custard cone named Scoopie, featured in various advertisements, community events, and fundraisers.