Culver’s makes ‘soft’ opening to enthusiastic crowd

After months of anticipation, Culver’s is open for business in Maricopa.

The city’s newest purveyor of burgers, frozen custard and onion rings has opened its doors for a “soft” introduction to customers over the next week and a half.

Culver’s official ribbon-cutting won’t happen until 5 p.m.  on Feb. 2. However, starting Tuesday, the restaurant will be serving up their entire menu during normal business hours – Sunday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight.

Multi-unit Supervisor Joseph Wood and franchise owner John Foertsch are familiar with the difficulties of a ground-up construction project. However, Wood said when the space became available at 20430 N. John Wayne Parkway, they pounced on it. And, with the city’s help, Culver’s was up and running quickly.

“Maricopa has always kind of been that place we wanted to explore. We know it’s just a thriving economy and a great place for food.” Wood said. “So, when Maricopa had a site that was shovel-ready and worth being developed we took a stab at it.”

He said the city helped tremendously to facilitate the process, and that despite him not being at every meeting he feels that “the city of Maricopa is actually easy to work with, it was seamless.”

Wood said one of the things that separate Culver’s from other burger joints is the customer service.

“It’s our culture,” Wood Said.  “Since 1984 Craig and Lee Culver have emphasized hospitality above and beyond all else.”

Wood said the despite rising beef costs Culver’s is unwavering in their dedication to not just quality service but quality food as well. When other similar restaurant began to push chicken and pork items Culver’s maintained their emphasis on their butter burger and never sacrificed quality.

“The burger has made us who we are, and it’s worked fantastic for us.”

The butter burger is not actually cooked with butter at all. Instead it is seared on a grill and served on lightly buttered bun.

For those with a sweet tooth, there is their other flagship product – frozen custard.

Not only is their custard thicker and creamier than your typical frozen custard but the flavor is unequaled, Wood claimed. “We have our own signature vanilla that we use in our custard mix, and there’s no one that can duplicate that,” Wood said.