Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
The new Culver’s of Birmingham restaurant is located in Tattersall Park off Alabama 119. Culver’s is known for its butter burgers, cheese curds and custard.
The second Culver’s location in central Alabama recently opened in Tattersall Park off Alabama 119. This is the sixth location of the restaurant in the state.
Joseph McCarty, an Indian Springs resident who owns the location at Stadium Trace Village next to Trace Crossings, wanted to bring another location to the U.S. 280 side of Hoover.
“Hoover opened in June 2019; then we applied to expand,” McCarty said. “In February 2020, we applied to open another location. Then COVID happened. That put expansions on hold for six months. Then we reapplied and started the process again.”
News of the Tattersall Park location was announced in early 2021, and construction began in August. The restaurant opened in mid-March and will be called Culver’s of Birmingham to avoid confusion with the location at Stadium Trace Village.
McCarty and his wife both attended Vestavia High School. While working in the restaurant industry in his early 20s, he enjoyed it and knew someday he might want to open his own.
He chose Culver’s after discovering the restaurant chain through Twitter and visiting a location in Georgia. As part of his training, McCarty had to spend a week in Wisconsin working at a Culver’s location and interviewing with the senior leadership team. That was followed by a 16-week training course in Wisconsin.
The Tattersall location will have about 50 employees, plus a 10-person management team. It takes about 15 people to run a shift.
“It's a people-oriented business that wants to make sure you have good service,” McCarty said. “We are a cook-to-order concept. Nothing is prepared for you until after you order.”
He describes the inside of the restaurant as warm and welcoming, with shades of blue and gray. Most of the artwork is Culver’s includes dairy cows and farm photos.
Culver’s began in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, and has grown to more than 750 family-owned/operated franchises across 25 states. The restaurant is best known for its butter burgers, cheese curds and custard, and all of its dairy products come from Wisconsin.
“The butter burger is a buttered, toasted bun with our fresh, never frozen, ground beef and cheese, and since we cook to order, you build your own burger,” McCarty said. “Standard toppings for the deluxe include mayonnaise, lettuce, pickles, tomato and onion. You get to pick your own cheese and toppings.”
The cheese curds, which are a staple in the Midwest, are a different and popular side. The curds are the infancy of the cheese-making process and are breaded and fried and dipped in ranch, honey mustard or barbecue sauce.
The extensive menu also includes chicken fingers and tenders, fish and shrimp, soups and salads, pork loin, pot roast and a variety of sandwiches. Side options are fries, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, onion rings, soups, chili and pretzel bites. The dessert menu features shakes, malts, floats, sundaes, concrete mixers and ice cream cones.
McCarty said custard is one of the most popular menu items. He said the difference between custard and ice cream is that custard has more egg yolk and more heavy whipping cream, making it richer, thicker and creamier. There are three flavors available every day: vanilla, chocolate and a flavor of the day that includes about 30 flavors that rotate. Hand-packed pints are also available for purchase in the lobby’s retail freezer.
Customers can build their own mixers by choosing a base flavor and adding toppings. McCarty said some of the most popular options include “turtle” and “crazy for cookie dough.”
Kids meals come with a free scoop of custard and a scoopie token. Once 10 tokens are collected, they can be redeemed for a toy.
McCarty said one of the best things about the Culver’s menu is that there is something for everyone in the family. He has yet to determine if there will be more locations, he said.
“I'm going to get this one open, then go from there,” he said. “We are happy to be in the community.”
