Culver's, home to cheese curds, Butterburgers, frozen custard, opens Monday in New Smyrna

Mark Harper, The Daytona Beach News-Journal
·2 min read
A new Culver's restaurant, 2679 State Road 44, New Smyrna Beach, is set to open Monday, June 19.
A new Culver's restaurant, 2679 State Road 44, New Smyrna Beach, is set to open Monday, June 19.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH − An emerging commercial stretch that teems with beach traffic on weekends will soon offer oceangoers another enticement to stop.

Culver's restaurant, part of a fast-growing Wisconsin-based franchise, is opening at 2679 State Road 44 on Monday, June 19, offering its signature Butterburgers, frozen custard and cheese curds.

This will be the fourth Culver's in the Volusia-Flagler area, with Palm Coast, Port Orange and Daytona Beach each having one. All are within two miles of Interstate 95.

The New Smyrna franchisees, Davis and Marisa Ferreria, also own the Palm Coast Culver's and formerly owned the Port Orange restaurant. They were at the new restaurant Tuesday as some of their new employees were undergoing training.

Franchisees Davis and Marisa Ferreria pose inside the new Culver's restaurant they are opening in New Smyrna Beach. They own the Culver's in Palm Coast and previously owned the Port Orange restaurant.
Franchisees Davis and Marisa Ferreria pose inside the new Culver's restaurant they are opening in New Smyrna Beach. They own the Culver's in Palm Coast and previously owned the Port Orange restaurant.

"We hope to hire 70 people," Marisa Ferreria said. "We are still a few bodies short."

Davis Ferreria said he and his wife moved to Florida after living in Illinois with the intent to retire, but their involvement with the Culver's franchise has pulled them back into working again. The New Smyrna Culver's took about two years to bring to fruition, he said.

"We saw that spot and it's near I-95, and we thought, that would be perfect," he said.

A Culver's restaurant will be the latest business to open along State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach just east of Interstate 95. A 7-Eleven and Zaxby's Chicken Fingers & Buffalo Wings have previously opened nearby.
A Culver's restaurant will be the latest business to open along State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach just east of Interstate 95. A 7-Eleven and Zaxby's Chicken Fingers & Buffalo Wings have previously opened nearby.

It also helps that thousands of homes have been built in surrounding areas and many more have been approved on the west side of New Smyrna Beach.

The Ferrerias, who are originally from the Philippines and now live in Port Orange, consider themselves beach people, which added to their attraction.

"I like New Smyrna Beach. I like the vibes," Marisa Ferreria said. "It seems vibrant."

She has adorned the New Smyrna restaurant with beach décor.

Culver's menu includes various burger options but also chicken, fish, and salads to pair with fries, onion rings, and those cheese curds, breaded, deep-fried, and oozing with unaged white and cheddar cheeses sourced from a Stanley, Wisconsin, dairy.

A new Culver's restaurant is opening Monday, June 19, in New Smyrna Beach. Culver's offers a variety of foods and custards. This is the Butterburger with cheese, cheese curds and a Concrete Mixer.
A new Culver's restaurant is opening Monday, June 19, in New Smyrna Beach. Culver's offers a variety of foods and custards. This is the Butterburger with cheese, cheese curds and a Concrete Mixer.

Culver's has more than 100 restaurants in Florida and more than 900 in the United States. Industry publications have called it one of the fastest-growing chain restaurants in the country.

The New Smyrna Beach Culver's will be open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Fourth Volusia-Flagler area Culver's opening Monday in New Smyrna Beach