Wisconsin-based fast-casual Culver’s honored the St. Augustine restaurant at 3433 U.S. 1 as one of its top five in the chain for customer service and food quality.
Owners Garth and Lisa Darton now are in the running for the national Culver’s Crew Challenge.
The chain has 949 restaurants in 26 states. There are nearly 100 locations in Florida. Garth Darton said most are on Florida’s West Coast,
The winning restaurant will be named at the Culver’s annual convention in January in Orlando. The winner will receive $50,000 and the four runners-up will each be awarded $12,500.
Darton said the cash award will be split between his 68 managers and employees.
“Every penny of it will be split between my team. I’m not taking a dime,” he said.
The company regularly sends in its own inspectors, unannounced, to review service and food quality. Each restaurant is graded in the first three quarters of the year for the contest. Also there are quarterly inspections by EcoSure, an independent health inspector.
The company also pays attention to customer surveys grading their dining experience.
The Dartons are Wisconsin natives who often vacationed in St. Augustine. In Wisconsin, the spouses of 36 years operated Verizon Wireless stores.
They bought a vacation home in St. Augustine in 2013.
“When people ask us why we moved here, I tell them we’d rather put salt on our margaritas than our sidewalks. We fell in love with the area,” Darton said.
It also doesn’t hurt that St. Augustine averages more than 6 million visitors a year and that St. Johns County as well as Northeast Florida has a growing population, he said.
When Culver’s expanded to Florida’s East Coast the Dartons bought an area franchise.
Culver’s decided to concentrate on the state’s West Coast because data showed many people familiar with the restaurant lived in that area of the state. By the time the Dartons invested, the Culver’s brand was know to tourists and Floridians alike, he said.
They expect to open their second Culver’s location in May on Florida 16 near the outlet mall, a mile south of the St. Augustine Walmart.
While most Culver’s build-outs cost $3 million to $4 million, Darton said the new location will have a maritime theme, a cabana-style patio and other Florida architectural touches. He expects by the time it opens the cost could reach $6 million.
Garth Darton credits the Culver’s culture for the local restaurant’s success. The chain has teams of trainers who work with new crews. Subsequent hires are assigned a trainer rather than being shown the ropes by a fellow employee.
“We just don’t throw people to sharks. There is a video-training process and station training,” he said.
Of his St. Augustine crew, 19 are original employees, which is testament to the Culver’s workplace values, he said. They employ people from 14 years old to retirees.
Culver CEO Rick Silva and co-founder Craig Culver will be at the restaurant Dec. 12 to present the Dartons and their team with an award of making the Top 5. While there, Culver’s will film the crew in action and talk with them for future promotional spots.
“We believe in going the extra mile to make our guests happy, and that starts with our phenomenal team members,” said Craig Culver in a Nov. 30 news release. “It’s our honor to recognize the St. Augustine team for the exceptional job they continue to do in the restaurant and the community.”