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How Culver’s evolves its menu while staying true to customer favorites

Director of Menu Development Quinn Adkins shares the sourcing and culinary strategies that drive the quick-service brand's loyalty and growth.

Patricia Cobe, Senior Editor

April 15, 2021

Culver’s has grown from a Wisconsin chain of family-owned quick-service restaurants to an 800-unit brand with locations in 25 states. Director of Menu Development Quinn Adkins joined Culver’s in 2015, helping to drive that growth with slow but steady menu innovation.

Loyal customers come back again and again for core items such as Butter Burgers, cheese curds, frozen custard and chicken tenders, and these can never come off the menu. But Adkins thoughtfully incorporates contemporary culinary ideas, including a veggie burger made with real vegetables, entrees featuring sustainable seafood and on-trend frozen custard flavors.

Quinn Adkins
Quinn Adkins

Listen as Adkins talks about Culver’s longtime mission of partnering with Wisconsin farmers and how he brings culinary flair to a quick-service menu.

Find more episodes of this podcast on Spotify.

About the Author

Patricia Cobe

Senior Editor

Pat plans and executes the menu sections of Restaurant Business and FoodService Director, covering food and beverage trends, Menu R&D, profiles of chefs and restaurateurs and Technomic research. She also contributes to the digital content of both RB and FSD and is editor of two weekly e-newsletters, Recipe Report and On the Menu. Pat’s weekly podcast, MenuFeed, covers a wide range of menu topics through interviews with chefs and operators.

Pat came to Winsight from Hearst, where she was an executive editor. She is the co-author of the Mompreneurs series of books as well as two cookbooks. She graduated from Cornell University and earned a Masters in Journalism from Boston University. She is active in several professional organizations, including Les Dames d’Escoffier and the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC), and serves as a judge for the James Beard Media Awards.

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