Culver's, Holland Michigan: The Midwest Burger Chain You've Never Heard Of (But Should Try)

Hi, I'm Ino.

While traveling through Holland, Michigan, there was one restaurant I had been quietly looking forward to trying. Not a local diner, not a fine dining spot — a burger chain. One that most people outside the American Midwest have probably never encountered, and one that the people who do know it tend to feel genuinely loyal to.

That chain is Culver's.

Unlike McDonald's or Burger King, Culver's doesn't have locations everywhere. It started in Wisconsin and expanded outward from there, with the majority of its restaurants still concentrated in the Midwest — Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and the surrounding states. If you're traveling through this part of the country and you spot the blue roof and cursive logo, it's worth stopping. Here's what you'll find inside.

The Culver's in Holland, Michigan — clean lines, blue signage, and a parking lot that fills up at lunch.

A Burger Chain Built for the Midwest

Culver's was founded in 1984 by Craig Culver, his wife Lea, and his parents George and Ruth. The first location opened on July 18, 1984, in Sauk City, a small town in southern Wisconsin with a population of around 3,000. The site was a former A&W Root Beer drive-in that the family had owned, sold, and eventually bought back — and it was on that same piece of land that Culver's began.

The early days were genuinely difficult. The restaurant opened directly across the street from a Hardee's, which was at the time the fastest-growing burger chain in the United States. Dairy Queen had just launched the Blizzard. The competition was fierce, and almost nobody in Sauk City knew what a ButterBurger or frozen custard was. Craig Culver later recalled that the family nearly didn't survive the first year.

They did survive it, and then some. The chain began franchising in 1988, expanded outside Wisconsin in 1995, and now operates more than 830 locations across 25 states. In 2024, Culver's celebrated its 40th anniversary, and the Governor of Wisconsin officially declared July 18 "Culver's Day" in the state. It remains majority family-owned, with a minority stake sold to a private equity firm in 2017 to keep the family in control as future generations take over.

What sets Culver's apart from the national chains isn't just the food — it's the service model. You order at the counter, receive a number, and a staff member brings your food to your table on a tray. The dining room is consistently clean and calm. It feels less like fast food and more like a well-run casual diner, even though the prices are in the same general range. For a quick stop in the middle of a road trip, it's a noticeably better experience than most of its competition.

The full order on the blue tray — ButterBurger Double, Cheese Curds, and two Concrete Mixers.

The ButterBurger: What the Name Actually Means

The name "ButterBurger" is misleading at first glance. It doesn't mean the patty is mixed with butter, or that the burger is particularly rich or greasy. What it actually refers to is the bun: the inside of each bun is lightly brushed with butter and toasted on the griddle before the burger is assembled. That's it. A small detail, but one that makes a real difference.

The other thing worth knowing is that Culver's uses fresh, never-frozen beef. In an industry where most chains work from frozen patties, this is a meaningful distinction — the texture and flavor of the meat are noticeably different from what you get at a McDonald's or a Wendy's. The patties are cooked in a smash style, pressed flat on a hot griddle, which makes them thin with crispy, lacy edges. Two of them stacked in a Double produce a result that's satisfying without being overwhelming.

I ordered the ButterBurger Double with American cheese. The first thing I noticed was the smell — a gentle, warm butter fragrance from the toasted bun, nothing sharp or artificial. The patties were thin but substantial together, the edges browned and slightly crisp, and the cheese was melted evenly across both layers. The flavor was clean and direct. No heavy sauce, no complicated condiments — just beef, bun, and cheese doing exactly what they're supposed to do. For anyone who finds the standard American fast food burger too salty or too aggressively seasoned, Culver's is a genuinely good alternative.

Tip: The single patty ButterBurger is available, but the smash-style patties are thin by design — a single may leave you wanting more. Order the Double for a properly satisfying meal, especially if you're adding sides.

The full spread — ButterBurger Double at center, Cheese Curds on the left, Concrete Mixers at the back.

The Concrete Mixer: Wisconsin's Answer to Ice Cream

The name "Concrete Mixer" sounds like something you'd find at a construction site, and that's entirely intentional. It refers to the consistency: this dessert is blended so thick and dense that it can be served upside down without spilling. The spoon stands upright on its own. It is not a milkshake. It is not soft serve. It is something else entirely.

The base is frozen custard — a Wisconsin staple that's distinct from standard ice cream in two important ways. First, it contains egg yolks, which give it a richer, creamier flavor and a smoother texture. Second, less air is churned into it during production, which makes it denser and heavier than ice cream. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reportedly has the highest number of frozen custard shops per capita of any city in the world. Culver's brought that tradition to the highway.

Mix-ins are blended directly into the custard — fruits, chocolates, caramel, cookies, and dozens of other options. I ordered the strawberry version. The flavor was genuine rather than synthetic, the fruit pieces intact rather than crushed into paste. The density of the custard means it doesn't melt quickly, which gives you time to actually eat it rather than race against the clock.

Culver's also offers a "Flavor of the Day" — a rotating special custard flavor that changes daily at each location and won't appear on the permanent menu. Check the Culver's app or website the morning of your visit to see what's on. It's one of those small things that makes a return visit feel worth planning.

Good to know: The Concrete Mixer cannot be consumed through a straw — the custard is too thick. A sturdy plastic spoon comes with every order. Don't try to drink it. Also, check the "Flavor of the Day" before you order — it changes daily and is often the best thing on the dessert menu.

The Concrete Mixer — dense enough that the spoon stays put. This is not ice cream.

The Patty Up Close

Unwrapped and examined up close, the ButterBurger Double is a good-looking burger. The two smash patties are noticeably textured — not smooth pressed discs but rough-edged, slightly irregular pieces of beef with browned, almost lacey edges where the meat made contact with the hot griddle. The American cheese is melted rather than just laid on top, soft and fully integrated into the layers.

The bun is soft and pillowy, with a slight golden tint on the cut side from the butter toasting. It doesn't compete with the beef — it supports it. There's a balance to the whole construction that suggests someone thought carefully about proportions. It's not a thick steakhouse burger, and it's not trying to be. It's a fast food burger done with more care than usual, and the result is something honest and easy to eat.

Two smash patties, melted cheese, buttered bun. The edges of the beef are where the flavor is.

Cheese Curds: The Side You Didn't Know You Needed

I skipped the french fries and ordered Cheese Curds instead — and if you're visiting Culver's for the first time, you should do the same.

Cheese curds are a Wisconsin specialty. They are fresh cheddar cheese in its natural, irregular form — small, dense pieces of cheese that come directly from the curd stage of production, before it's been aged or pressed into blocks. On their own, fresh cheese curds have a mild, slightly salty flavor and a distinctive squeaky texture when you bite into them. At Culver's, they are coated in a light batter and fried until the outside is golden and crisp while the interior melts into soft, gooey cheddar.

The result is something that is genuinely difficult to describe to someone who hasn't had it. It's not a mozzarella stick — the cheese is different, the shape is irregular, and the flavor is sharper and more savory. It's not a tater tot, though at a glance the shape is similar. It's its own thing entirely, rooted in a specific regional food tradition that you won't encounter outside the Midwest in quite the same form.

They pair very well with the ButterBurger. The saltiness of the curds complements the mild, clean flavor of the beef, and alternating between the two keeps the meal interesting from start to finish. Order them hot and eat them quickly — cheese curds lose something as they cool, and the best moment is the first few minutes after they arrive.

Good to know: Cheese curds are a Wisconsin original and one of the few things you simply cannot replicate at home or find easily outside this region. If you're passing through the Midwest and see Culver's on the road, the curds alone are reason enough to stop.

Wisconsin Cheese Curds — crispy outside, melted cheddar inside. Order them hot.

Ino's Tips for Visiting Culver's

Order the Double, not the Single. The ButterBurger is made with thin smash-style patties, which is part of what makes them good — the large surface area on the griddle creates that browned, textured edge. But a single patty alone doesn't provide much volume. The Double hits the right balance of flavor and substance, especially when you're adding sides. If you're particularly hungry, the Triple exists, but the Double is the sweet spot.

Skip the fries — get the Cheese Curds. French fries are available, and they're fine. But Cheese Curds are a regional specialty tied directly to Wisconsin's dairy culture, and Culver's does them well. They're not available at most chains outside the Midwest, and they're the more interesting choice by a significant margin. Order them as your side on the first visit; you can always try the fries next time.

Check the Flavor of the Day before you order. The daily rotating custard flavor changes at each individual Culver's location, so what's available in Holland may be different from what's available at another location down the road. The Culver's website and app both show the current day's flavor at your nearest location. It takes ten seconds to check and it's often the best thing they're serving that day.

The Concrete Mixer requires a spoon. This is not a drink. The custard is thick enough to hold a spoon upright without support. Trying to use the straw — which comes with the cup — will not work. The straw is there mostly for decoration. Use the spoon.

Hours and locations. Most Culver's locations are open daily from 10:30 AM to 10:00 PM, though hours can vary by location. The chain is concentrated in the Midwest — Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana have the highest density of locations. As you move toward the coasts, locations become significantly rarer. The Culver's app includes a location finder and the current Flavor of the Day for each restaurant.

Holland, Michigan has a handful of dining options worth your time. If you're in the area for something sweet rather than savory, Captain Sundae on the other side of town is a local institution with a presidential history. For a sit-down breakfast or brunch experience with a different pace, the Windmill Restaurant on 8th Street has been one of Holland's most reliable morning spots for over four decades. And if you want the full American steakhouse experience while you're in the Midwest, Texas Roadhouse is the loud, joyful, peanut-shell-on-the-floor version of that.

Worth Stopping For

Culver's is not trying to be anything other than what it is: a Midwestern burger chain that takes its food seriously without taking itself seriously. The ButterBurger is honest and well-made, the Concrete Mixer is genuinely unlike anything you'll find at a national chain, and the Cheese Curds are a legitimate regional specialty that deserves more attention than it gets outside the Midwest.

The prices are slightly higher than McDonald's or Burger King — a full meal with a side and a Concrete Mixer will run you somewhere between $12 and $16 depending on what you order. For what you get, that feels fair. The food is fresher, the dining room is calmer, and the experience overall is a step above the standard fast food formula.

If you're driving through Michigan or anywhere else in the Midwest and you see the blue Culver's sign, pull in. It's one of those regional American things that's worth experiencing exactly where it comes from.