Culver’s — Restaurant in Valdosta

I've mentioned before on other reviews that valdosta has this innate ability, like no other place on earth, to bring in really great establishments and chain restaurants and then completely screw them up in short time. It's a process that, for years, I've called being "Valdostardized". It's not the chain. It's this town. It's the quality of people looking for jobs here. When you hire bad labor, you get bad results. This one, however, really surprised me because it happened so fast. Less than a month!

Let's start with the way the place was built. You, literally, can't leave if there's cars in the drive thru without going against the flow of traffic. The only exit you can get to following the arrows (if you park out front) is blocked by the drive thru lanes. That's annoying and unsafe.

Then there's the quality. I've been to Culver's all over this country. Florida, Georgia, North Dakota. All great. So I do have some experience to base my review on.

First thing we noticed when we walked in (around 5:20 pm on a Wednesday) was that there were way too many employees just standing there doing nothing. One register open...a line at that register... and employees standing behind the other two registers doing nothng. Why?

Next impression in the door... dirty. Visibly dirty. Hadn't been swept or vacuumed in several days, clearly. And HOT. Brand new place... they apparently don't have A/C or they won't turn it on.

We ordered dinner. I ordered the double burger with mushrooms and Swiss and a large order of onion rings and a large drink. My wife ordered a single burger... only bacon and cheese (nothing else) on a gluten free bun. Go to get condiments, sticky counters, empty mayo and mustard bins, napkins everywhere. We get to the table and sit down and realize, again, it's about 90 degrees in this place. And there's about five employees sitting in a corner booth just laughing and cursing and being generally obnoxious. Completely unacceptable. They bring us our food...I get a plate...a full size divided plate...of cold onion rings that have been buried in salt. My mushroom burger had no mushrooms and the cheese wasn't even melted. My wife's burger had a regular bun, not gluten free (we know because that always bring the bun in its sealed wrapper and you assemble the burger yourself). This was a regular bun, slathered in mayo, cold cheese, dried out (curled up) patty, with tomato and lettuce. Now, if you order gluten free and they don't do it, servsafe specifications say you redo the whole thing. Cross contamination. I watched them take it back to the kitchen.... take the (now cold) patty out of the sandwich, throw it in a burger box, throw cold bacon and cold cheese on top of that, put a gluten free bun back on the tray and bring it back. 60 seconds, tops. Negative. That burger came in contact with gluten. You remake it. That was all she wrote for us.

This will be our first, last, and only visit to Culver's in Valdosta. They blew it by hiring a gaggle of obnoxious teenagers, having no visible supervision, no obligation to even try to adhere to the gluten free request, serve hot food, or even pretend to care. 26 bucks for two burgers, onion rings, and two drinks. 26 bucks we'll never get back. And i didn't try. I guarantee you we'll never go back there to get it.

We'll drive to Lake City. THAT Culver's is flawless.

Valdostardized. In less than a month. Sad. Hard pass.

(Edit. You all see the response we got. Boilerplate cut and paste response. Nope.

To the owner: You don't need us to go to some specific website that mandates providing more personal information than a government clearance inquiry. If you had any intent to try and fix the problem, you would clearly be able to do so from the abundance of information in this review. Fix the problem before your service or poor safety measures cause someone to get hurt, sick, or worse. Whether or not you do that is of no consequence to us. We already told you we're not...

Culver's burgers are a testament to the art of crafting a truly delicious meal. From the first bite to the last, each burger is a symphony of flavors and textures that leaves you craving more.

One of the things that sets Culver's burgers apart is the quality of their ingredients. The beef patties are juicy and flavorful, cooked to perfection on the grill. Topped with fresh lettuce, ripe tomatoes, crunchy pickles, and your choice of cheese, each burger is a masterpiece of flavor combinations that never fails to impress

And let's not forget about the sides. Whether you're craving crispy fries, golden onion rings, or creamy coleslaw, Culver's has you covered. Each side dish is made with the same attention to detail and quality ingredients as their burgers, ensuring that every aspect of your meal is nothing short of perfection.

Culver's also offers a range of mix-ins and toppings to take your ice cream experience to the next level. From hot fudge and caramel sauce to fresh fruit and candy pieces, the possibilities are endless, allowing you to create a customized treat that's uniquely yours.

And let's not forget about Culver's famous Concrete Mixers. These blended masterpieces combine creamy custard with your choice of mix-ins, resulting in a thick, indulgent dessert that's sure to satisfy even the most discerning sweet tooth. Overall, Culver's ice cream is a must-try for anyone craving a deliciously sweet escape. With its irresistible flavors, creamy texture, and endless customization options, it's no wonder Culver's has become a favorite dessert destination for ice cream lovers everywhere.

But perhaps the best part of the Culver's burger experience is the atmosphere. Whether you're dining in one of their cozy restaurants or grabbing a meal on the go, the friendly staff and welcoming ambiance make every visit feel like...

The Valdosta location has been open a couple of months so I thought it a good time to give it a try. The crew is trained and experienced and the initial avalanche of crowds has died down somewhat. I had never been to a Culver’s and didn’t know what to fully expect.

It’s a walk up counter where you order, much like your typical fast food restaurant. You get a cup and a runner brings your food out. The menu is large and if you aren’t familiar with the food it can be a little overwhelming as you try to order quickly as a line is stacking up behind you.

We both ordered a lunch combo. We did not realize it was a double burger, and would have ordered a single if we had, because the double was more than we could eat. The burger and fries were fresh and hot, but everything was heavily salted. I understand that salt on the fries is a hit or miss thing as it depends on the person who takes up the fries, but I’m not sure about the salt on the meat patties. Maybe the seasoning is applied at the restaurant or maybe it comes to the restaurant preseasoned. Either way the meat was too heavily salted for my taste.

We also both had a dessert. I believe they call it a custard. It tasted like standard soft serve ice cream to me, but you could add toppings, much like DQ, to personal it to your taste.

Prices were definitely higher than I expected for lunch at a fast food restaurant. If I return I will try to order a more reasonably sized and priced lunch. As it turned out this visit the price was too high...