Culver’s — Restaurant in Saint Augustine

Wisconsin-style Butter Burgers lead the menu at Culver’s February 19, 2021

After a couple of weeks to get the doors open and work the kinks out, Historic City News met with Culver’s owners Garth and Lisa Darton of St. Augustine at their new location open from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily at 3433 US-1 South. Monday January 18, 2021 was the official launch date for the St. Augustine “fast-casual” restaurant known for its Wisconsin-style Butter Burgers, cheese curds and frozen custard desserts.

Within the next year Darton has plans to launch a second local Culver’s franchise on SR-16, near the outlet malls. Another St Johns County location of the chain, owned by a different franchisee, is set to open on CR-210 this week. A Flagler County location on SR-100 near Belle Terre Parkway in Palm Coast is finishing construction at this time and should be ready in about two-weeks.

“People find our food comforting and warm, and our hospitality the same way,” Darton was quoted in an opening-week, sit-down interview published in The Record. “When will the hubbub calm down? Your’ guess is as good as mine, I don’t think it will end for quite a while.”

For Darton and his team of 78 local employees, when cars are backed up two lanes deep in a wait for drive-thru service for nearly an hour during the lunch and dinner rush, that “friendly Culver’s service” must be emphasized. They seem to be hitting the marks and seeing success with a lot of word-of-mouth.

Feedback from customers has been positive. Darton, who is originally from Wisconsin where the brand was founded in 1984, said some of the appeal is the novelty of a new eatery in town. However, Culver’s reputation for making items “fresh to order” and its unique Midwestern “homestyle menu” add the restaurant’s popularity. Darton has named Josh Kornatz as general manager for the St Augustine location.

Kornatz said the best-selling items so far are the fresh-dipped cod; custard (a richer, thicker form of ice cream) — especially the mint favor; and those Butter Burgers, which feature a classic beef burger on a toasted buttered bun with a variety of toppings.

The indoor seating area is open at just 50% capacity due to COVID-19. Additional umbrella-covered outdoor seating is available across a picnic-style porch. Servers locate and bring you your order and are easy to find for extra napkins, condiments, or free drink refills.

The store has access from two roads: US-1 South, where about 44,000 cars drive past every day, and Old Moultrie Road, with about 17,000 vehicles daily. According to Darton, they processed nearly 900 orders on the first day...

TRAVIS and Hayden CUSTOMER SERVICE ALLSTARs! Yall are the standard of great customer service. Yall always do good, I eat there at minimum of 8 days a week and yall are always ways on point. Hayden knows me by name and makes ur boy feel special. That's how yall will surpass chic fila. Hayden Travis and ummm Jessica? W the sportage.. I had some questions and a gentleman named Travis was extremely helpful. Great energy, thoughtful, very knowledgeable about all things Culver's I believe he is a manager and if he's not make him one. He was such a good employee, honestly I asked him to come work with me and great money. He said "thank you but I am loyal to my team and that he's loves it here, loves his the managers and his coworkers. Employees/ managers like that make a difference. Everyone else there has great service as well. Being in customer service myself I know how frontline employees are a reflection of management. Great Job Culver's, The enthusiastic diligence of the employees make for a professional experience. That's why I cone everyday. (Haha get it) Travis and Hayden yall will own a Culver's one day not a doubt in my mind!! Chase is awesome too!! Chase learn from Travis and Hayden. Be teachable, with ur enthusiasm and people skills you'll go far. Sincerely, DYLAN HART

Ps culvers how yall get the jordan and pippin of the burger game? Now yall just need a trouble maker with green hair!! CHASE Dye UR HAIR GREEN AND GROW ANOTHER FOOT,...

My gf took me here for the first time a couple of months ago. If you don't cook your own burgers on the grill, you like a good burger, or even if you don't normally do fast food (I don't), you will want to try Culver's. I started my experience with a kid's meal because I didn't want a heavy meal. I bought a plain burger (meaning no condiments, tomato, pickle, or onion) and asked for cheese only and cheese nuggets (curds on the menu) and a soda. We ordered at the window and our food was brought out to us. The food was hot and fresh, and the servers (?) are sweet and careful that your order is as it was placed. *If something is incorrect, the server goes back and makes the correction, then brings out the corrected order. I noticed their menu is diverse, so I hope I can explore it more in the future. Usually, I'm not a big burger fan, but theirs changed my mind. Even the kid's burger is a nice size and tastes great, almost as good as what we fix at home. And the hot, melty cheese curds, oh, my! I've tasted the fries too, but the curds are wonderful when hot. They tend turn rubbery if you let them get cold, but a *few seconds in the microwave and they're fine. You can get dessert, but the meal I had was so filling, I didn't want it. For someone who doesn't normally do fast food, Culver's changed my mind. Try them; they might actually make you crave a burger you don't have to...