FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Culver’s has opened in Fairhope, expanding the chain’s Baldwin County presence with a grand opening on Labor Day morning, Monday, Sept. 7.
The restaurant, known for its butter burgers and frozen custard, is located at 22147 Highway 181 in the Planter’s Pointe Shopping Center.
“We’ve been waiting,” said Matt Koon, who co-owns the new location with Curtis Herbig. “My whole family works for me, so super excited about that. Excited to get the doors open, let everybody come and enjoy the great food.”
The Franchise Model Behind the Sign
Koon’s comment about his family working for him points to something worth understanding about how a national chain arrives in a town like Fairhope.
Culver’s operates predominantly through franchising, and the company has historically emphasized owner-operators — franchisees who work in the restaurant rather than investors who hold locations as passive assets. Prospective franchisees typically complete an extended training program, and the company has generally favored candidates who plan to be present in the business daily.
The practical consequence is that a new Culver’s is a local small business operating under a national brand. Hiring decisions, day-to-day management and community involvement rest with owners who live in the area. The chain supplies the brand, the supply chain, the operating system and the marketing.
For a community, that structure matters more than it might appear. Profits from a franchised location largely remain with local owners, and the operator is someone who can be reached rather than a regional office.
What the Chain Is Known For
Culver’s built its identity around two products.
The ButterBurger is a fresh, never-frozen beef patty served on a lightly buttered, toasted bun. The name refers to the bun rather than to the beef. The technique — a smashed patty cooked to order on a flat-top — produces the browned crust that defines the style.
Frozen custard is the second, and it is genuinely distinct from ice cream rather than a marketing distinction. Custard contains egg yolk, which ice cream typically does not, and it is churned in a way that incorporates less air. The result is denser and creamier. Culver’s makes it fresh in small batches throughout the day and rotates a Flavor of the Day, which for regular customers becomes a reason to check what is being made before deciding whether to stop in.
The company began in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1984, and its Midwestern origins remain visible on the menu — the cheese curds, the walleye, the emphasis on Wisconsin dairy.
The Highway 181 Corridor
The location at 22147 Highway 181 places the restaurant on one of the eastern shore’s primary growth corridors.
Highway 181 runs north-south through Baldwin County east of Mobile Bay, connecting Daphne, Fairhope and points south. Over the past two decades it has transformed from a rural route into a developed commercial and residential corridor, driven by population growth across the eastern shore.
Baldwin County has been among Alabama’s fastest-growing counties for years, with the eastern shore communities of Daphne, Fairhope and Spanish Fort absorbing much of that growth. The area draws residents commuting to Mobile across the bay, retirees, and families relocating from other states.
National restaurant chains follow that pattern with some precision. Site selection for a franchise location involves detailed analysis of traffic counts, household income, population density and growth projections. When a chain like Culver’s commits to a location, it reflects a judgment that the surrounding trade area can support it — which is a data point about the corridor as much as about the restaurant.
Planter’s Pointe
The Planter’s Pointe Shopping Center location places the restaurant among other retail rather than on a standalone pad in isolation.
That arrangement is generally advantageous for a restaurant. Shared traffic means customers arrive for other reasons and notice the restaurant; parking is shared; and the center as a whole draws more consistently than any single tenant would alone.
A Labor Day Opening
Opening on Labor Day morning was a deliberate choice, and a sensible one for a coastal county.
Labor Day marks the close of the summer season along the Alabama Gulf Coast, and traffic through Baldwin County over the holiday weekend is substantial in both directions. A restaurant opening then captures holiday volume immediately while building awareness among residents heading into the fall.
Restaurant openings are also operationally demanding in their first weeks. Staff are newly trained, systems are untested at volume, and demand is typically at its highest because of opening curiosity. Owner-operators who are present daily during that period are generally better positioned to work through it.
Baldwin County’s Expanding Dining Scene
The opening joins a steady stream of restaurant activity across Baldwin County, from independent operations in downtown Fairhope and Foley to national brands arriving along the growth corridors and at the outlet center.
That expansion reflects both permanent population growth and a tourism economy that brings millions of visitors to the Alabama coast annually. Restaurants in the county serve two distinct markets — year-round residents and seasonal visitors — and the businesses that succeed generally find a way to serve both.
For Fairhope residents, the practical effect is another option on the Highway 181 corridor. For Koon, Herbig and the family Koon mentioned, it is a business they will be running themselves.
Location
Culver’s of Fairhope is located at 22147 Highway 181 in the Planter’s Pointe Shopping Center.