Culver’s is lining up a new restaurant in Tarpon Springs off U.S. Highway 19 North, adding yet another stop on the chain’s fast-growing Tampa Bay tour. The Wisconsin-born ButterBurger brand has been rapidly planting flags across Florida this year, and the Tarpon Springs site is the latest sign that the push is not slowing down. The operator behind the project already runs multiple Culver’s locations around the region, which could help move things along quickly once permits clear.
The project was first detailed by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, which reports that S&L Companies, a Wisconsin-based Culver’s franchise group, is developing the site off U.S. 19 North in Tarpon Springs. According to the outlet, the franchisee already operates several Culver’s restaurants around Tampa Bay and is actively scouting and developing new regional sites.
The broader buildout is not just a local story. The Milwaukee Business Journal has tracked Culver’s expansion plans this year, reporting that the brand is projecting roughly 59 new restaurants in 2026 as part of its biggest growth push in years. Culver’s corporate communications, including new menu plans and upgrades to the Delicious Rewards program, have been framed as support systems for that wave of openings, per Culver’s.
Who’s Building It
S&L Companies, a long-running Culver’s franchise group based in Portage, Wisconsin, is listed as the developer for the Tarpon Springs project. According to S&L Companies, the group operates more than 130 Culver’s restaurants across several states and has been expanding its Florida footprint in recent years. That kind of scale gives the company plenty of experience with multiunit rollouts and regional site development, which could make the Tarpon Springs build a fairly routine play in a much larger expansion.
What To Watch In North Pinellas
The planned restaurant would land along the busy U.S. 19 retail corridor, a stretch that has already drawn a steady stream of new pad and quick-service development in recent years. The Tampa Bay Business Journal highlighted the location off U.S. 19 North, and upcoming municipal permit and site-plan filings will likely reveal a more formal construction timeline. The Milwaukee Business Journal has noted that permit records often tip off where chains are building well before any signage goes up.
No firm opening date was included in the initial coverage, and neither Culver’s nor the franchisee has released a site-specific timeline. For now, the only clear takeaway is that Tarpon Springs is on Culver’s radar. We will be watching county permitting databases and local planning agendas for filings that point to construction, along with any formal announcement from the developer or the company.
