Culver's Stock: What Investors Get Wrong and the 3 Real Plays
No, Culver's is not publicly traded. If you want exposure, the realistic options are waiting for an IPO, looking at comparable restaurant stocks, or—if you're accredited—checking private secondary markets for rare access.
Culver’s keeps showing up on investors’ radar for a simple reason: it’s a big, recognizable restaurant brand that still feels like a growth story. The chain has expanded to more than 1,000 locations across 26 states, keeps pushing menu innovation, and in 2025 named Julie Fussner as its first female CEO while rolling out new loyalty and product initiatives.
That combination of scale, brand strength, and ongoing expansion is exactly why retail investors ask how to buy Culver’s stock. The short answer is that you can’t buy it on an exchange today, but there are a few realistic ways to think about exposure—and a few dead ends to avoid.
What is Culver's?
Culver’s is a quick-service restaurant chain best known for ButterBurgers and Fresh Frozen Custard, along with cheese curds, chicken sandwiches, fish, and limited-time menu items. The company says it opened its first restaurant in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1984, and its first successful franchise opened in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1990. It is headquartered in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.
On scale, Culver’s says it has more than 1,000 restaurants in 26 states, over 670 owner-operators, and 45,000 team members. That makes it a meaningful franchised restaurant system, but still a private one with no current public revenue figure disclosed in company materials.
