Culver vs The Flame Broiler Restaurant Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Culver vs The Flame Broiler Restaurant including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Company Overviews

About Culver

After working with his parents in their restaurants, Craig Culver decided it was time to open one for himself. In 1984 Culver, with the help of his wife Lea and parents George and Ruth, transformed the A&W his parents owned since the sixties into Culver's Frozen Custard. Its founder's family inspired the menu for the initial Sauk City, Wisconsin, restaurant. When Culver's mother made hamburgers, she would put a dab of butter on the crown of the hamburger buns before toasting them; something her children felt made them taste better. Today, employees at each Culver's location use the same technique when making their ButterBurgers. There are Culver's locations in twelve states. All Culver's franchisees are owner/operators.
 
We’re looking for leaders with the initiative and skills to take a team of people and operate a Culver’s according to our high standards. You need energy and enthusiasm. You have to be willing to work hard. You have to love people and believe, as we do, that having a great heart is also good business.

Culver’s has grown to over 500 restaurants in 22 states.

About The Flame Broiler Restaurant

The first The Flame Broiler, The Rice Bowl King restaurant opened in 1995 in Fullerton, California. Young Lee, who had graduated from UCLA with a degree in Economics and had joined the workforce, often found himself on the road during his workday. As a result, he often found himself grabbing a quick bite to eat for lunch at many different fast food restaurants. Very entrepreneurial in nature, Young Lee set out to create a better, healthier alternative to the fast food he had to choose from while working. This led him to open the first The Flame Broiler, The Rice Bowl King restaurant, which served simple, healthy, fast food and family-style Korean food.

Word about the new restaurant spread, and Young Lee found himself extremely busy during lunch. He quickly developed a very broad customer base; The Flame Broiler, The Rice Bowl King appealed to all ethnicities. The restaurant was a success. Not only did the concept appeal to a diverse group of people, but Young Lee was able to operate on a very low budget, with virtually no waste.

Because of the restaurant’s popularity and success, Young Lee opened a second restaurant in Santa Ana in 1995. Both restaurants have continued to prosper over the years. Then in April of 1999, Young Lee opened a third restaurant in Anaheim, which would be owned and run by his brother. And he has also developed his own proprietary recipe for the Teriyaki sauce served at The Flame Broiler The Rice Bowl King.

Word about The Flame Broiler The Rice Bowl King continued to spread. The Flame Broiler The Rice Bowl King had become so popular on the West Coast that customers began asking Young Lee to franchise, which is what he decided to do in 1999. Young Lee saw franchising as a way to provide even more customers with a better, healthy alternative to fast food while maintaining the high level of service and food quality for which The Flame Broiler The Rice Bowl King is so well known.

Young Lee realizes that franchisees, who have a vested interest in their businesses, will be more dedicated partners in the growth process. By successfully operating their individual The Flame Broiler The Rice Bowl King restaurants, the entire franchise network will have the ability to expand (first through California, then across the nation and eventually internationally), benefit from each others' innovations, and maintain long-term stability. He also realizes that future growth and success can be achieved through the combined efforts of franchisees who have ownership in a business and who have ties to their local communities.