Midwestern fast-food favorite Culver’s is opening several new franchisee-owned locations in the Chicago neighborhoods of Austin, Wrigleyville, and possibly South Shore.
This will mark nine locations for franchisee Baron Waller, who recently opened a location in Pullman. The 4,300-square-foot Wrigleyville location at 1111 W. Addison Street initially hoped to open at the start of this year’s baseball season, but plans have been delayed. The Austin and Wrigleyville sites are now expected to open by the fourth quarter of 2023. Waller has mentioned he plans to expand to the South Shore neighborhood on the Southeast Side, but the exact opening date is unknown.
Waller decided to open his first Culver’s in New Lenox after an excellent visit to one of the restaurant locations in Lansing, MI. The Wisconsin-based restaurant, known for its ButterBurgers and Cheese Curds, has at least 20 locations in the Chicagoland area, including a new site coming to Batavia from another franchisee. Waller proves to be one of the company’s leading franchise owners, recently winning the For-Profit Real Estate Development Award at the recent 28th Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards.
“Winning this award was very important to me because it recognized what I am trying to do with my restaurants, and that’s bring them to the inner-city because typically Culver’s [is] located mostly in the suburbs,” Baron tells Chicago Business Journal. “Pullman has not had a sit-down restaurant in 30 years, so opening my first Chicago location in Pullman was a big accomplishment for me.”
