History In 1984, Sauk City, George Culver buys the A W in Phillips Boulevard (USA. Highway 12), and began renovating. On 17 July, along with his wife Ruth, son Craig, and daughter Leah, opened the first restaurant that bears his name. Despite its current popularity, the restaurant struggled mightily, losing money the first year and higher production costs. As Craig Culver recalls, “It was pretty lonely, to tell the truth. If I were a smart businessman, I have drawn from it.” However, for the third year, the concept seems to have improved and accepted by the people , and Culver’s showed its first profit. With the success of the new restaurant. It did not take long before someone wanted to copy. In 1987, the Culvers moved to purchase the franchise of a restaurant in nearby Richland Center. More than anything, the Culvers quickly according to the grant of the franchise. He let out a licensing agreement, the charging of fees or royalties not. “Due to the fact that the franchisee has invested very little of their own money, is a simple matter for him to walk away a year later when he decided he would no longer in business and the intention of restoring the restaurant. The Culvers quickly learned several important lessons from their franchises were a failure. They established a set of standard procedures of the franchise that are the basis of those currently used by Culver Franchising System, Inc. Three years later, they tried again and businesses in Baraboo, quickly doubled. Shortly thereafter, the highest recognition that the second store earned this small town led to the chain expansion in the Madison and Milwaukee.