LAKELAND— Wisconsin's famous Culver's is finally on its way to the Lakeland metro area.
Two separate Culver's locations are coming soon, both targeting the end of the year for grand openings. Up to this point, fans of Culver's famous butter burgers and cheese curds had to travel to Plant City or Winter Haven to grab a treat.
On Wednesday, the Polk County Planning Commission unanimously approved an application for a drive-thru Culver's in Highland City. The new restaurant will be located on the corner of US-98 and Clubhouse Road, on the east side of the road andon the opposite corner from the McDonald's, said owner Hollie Swan.
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Swan said she could not disclose the physical address of the location yet but said the Culver's will be a brand new construction project with a double drive-thru and two patios - one covered and one not. She said the restaurant will likely seat about 100 people.
Swan said the building, tentatively set for groundbreaking in June, will be a brand new construction. She added that the restaurant is set to open "before the end of the year," hopefully around November.
"We wanted to be in Lakeland since I started with Culver's, since I went through the training to be a franchisee, and that wassix years ago," Swan said. "We finally found this location and we just feel like it's just going to be a wonderful addition to that area."
For those who have been following the Culver's saga since 2020, The Ledger confirmed that Swan's Culver's is the location hinted at by commercial real estate advisor David Hungerford in an October Instagram post. According to county records, the restaurant will be about 4,555 square feet.
Swan's Culver's had to be approved by the Polk County Planning Commission because of its location. The Town Center land use district requires drive-thru restaurants to undergo Level 3 reviews— where the commission can vote to approve or deny a project— to ensure drive-thru restaurants are pedestrian-oriented. The process was used to approve the drive-thru McDonald's in the same area in 2013.
Now that the commission has given Swan a unanimous green light, she'll just have to get through the normal permitting process to get her fast-food operation up and running by year's end.
Swan recently sold her Culver's in Lake Park and bought an existing location in Pinellas Park.
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Don't fancy a trip to Highland City? Another Culver's will be opening in North Lakeland on US-98 and just north of I-4, said owner and Culver's franchisee Nate Devine.
Devine, who owns a Culver's location in Kissimmee, said his Culver's will be near Walmart and Sam's Club, though he declined to provide a full address.
That Culver's will be roughly 4,800 square feet with 32 outdoor patio seats and 104 indoor seats, Devine said, pending permit approvals. The location will also feature a double drive-thru. Construction is set to start in June or July.
Devine said at his location, he'll hire six managers and 60-70 regular employees in the fall in preparation for the grand opening. He's targeting November or December but said the opening could be pushed until early 2022.
Swan is also looking to hire six to eight managers and 60-70 additional employees. She said if all goes according to plan, she'll start filling those positions in August.
Additionally, Devine said he is looking at South Lakeland for another Culver's location but has yet to narrow down a site.
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Devine, originally from Wisconsin himself,has been looking in Lakeland for some time, spurred by his interaction with Lakeland natives dining at his Kissimmee Culver's.
"We get a lot of people who come in from Lakeland either on their way to Disney or in the area and they keep asking, 'When are you going to open a Culver's in the Lakeland market?'" Devine said. "I'm just excited to bring a little bit of my childhood and hometown to the people of Lakeland."
Maya Lora can be reached with tips or questions at mlora@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @mayaklora.
