I wasn't planning on updating my Culver's review this afternoon. After all, Culver's is a longtime favorite spot of mine after I got to know the crew not long after the Wisconsin-based chain arrived in Indianapolis and my mother worked for the wholesaler who sold the area restaurants their food.
My mother has since retired and, in fact it seems like quite a few of the originals from Culver's have moved on. As a chain, they have pretty strict requirements of their franchise owners in terms of how many hours they must actually be in their restaurants. You don't tend to get long-distance ownership with Culver's, because they require their franchisees to actually work in the restaurants to maintain both quality and that sense of family.
With another snowstorm on the way this evening, I thought I'd take the opportunity to head out for a casual bite to eat that would allow me to rest and do some reading. I arrived at Culver's and immediately noticed that their renovation was still ongoing. With their familiar blue-and-white decor gone in favor of a warmer color palette, Culver's was clearly trying to move away from a fast food look in favor of a more social and relaxing environment with more woods and a darker color scheme. They'd added a 1/2 wall divider on one side of the restaurant and this wall included a handful of two-person booths. Additionally, the tables were now largely four-tops with the familiar booths surrounding the outer wall of the restaurant. You could see where they'd added stone to one inner wall and were working on adding it to another wall that was divided off for safety.
I also noticed that the prices had slightly increased, with my chicken tender value basket (including fries and drink) priced at $7.99. It's not a bad deal, but it's definitely on the outer fringes of what I want to pay at what amounts to a weird mix of fast food and fast casual.
The real reason that I'm dropping Culver's a star is, quite simply, because in the process of "improving" their restaurant they've made it FAR less wheelchair friendly and they've stacked the tables in so tightly that it's a little bit overwhelming.
There are now only a handful of tables that are truly wheelchair friendly. In my usual spot at the end of an aisle, I'm now sitting with my back to an aquarium and I spent my entire meal being bumped and jostled by those trying to look at the aquarium. Not only is it uncomfortable, it's an accident waiting to happen.
The tables are so close together that a wheelchair can only possibly go on the outside, but if you go too far into the restaurant you run into the possibility of getting blocked in should someone use a high-chair for baby or merely have a large party.
In other words, it's an absolutely dreadful design and a definite step backward for a chain that prides itself on service and hospitality.
While I'm at it, I've got to bring this up. As an adult with a disability, it excites me to no end to see a restaurant hire someone with a disability to work in the restaurant whether that be serving, clean-up, dishes, or whatever. However, in this case Culver's has set this young man up to fail miserably. This man, who appeared to have some level of intellectual disability, had clearly been hired to bus tables and wash them.
Nothing else.
The problem with this is when he's the only person working the floor and he gets questions from customers that he not only can't answer but he obviously couldn't understand. I watched on two occasions where he was asked questions and he obviously could not comprehend the questions being asked - the customers, once they understood, were understanding but not before they'd gotten frustrated over having to ask the same question repeatedly. In the wrong situation, that sets this young man up for massive failure and a potential customer service issue.
So, while I've long been a fan of Culver's I have no choice but to drop their grade due to a re-design that makes life harder for those with disabilities, an environment that is busy and uncomfortable, and the other "intangibles" that truly make me wonder if I'll spend the extra cash to go back. read more