What does Culver’s new CEO have in mind for the chain?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Julie Fussner, who was recently named chief executive of the 1,000-unit, Wisconsin-based burger chain. 

Culver’s is quietly one of the most consistent restaurant chains in the country and is one of a generation of high-growth burger concepts. Its system sales grew 16% last year. By contrast, fast-food burger chain sales last year grew just 1%.

Fussner came to the brand in 2017 and was later named chief marketing officer, the first CMO in that chain’s history. In April she was named just the fifth CEO in Culver’s history and the brand’s first woman CEO.

So we thought we’d bring her on and ask her a bunch of questions about plans for the company.