The April Fool's Day Joke That Resulted In One Of Culver's Bestselling Items Ever
Not every April Fools' Day prank is a success for major food companies. Lipton once played with customers' hearts with the "Rest in Peach" announcement that its peach tea flavor would be discontinued (thankfully, it wasn't), and McDonald's once angered its Australian audience with false promises of a "McFry" burger for the holiday. However, some April Fools' Day pranks are a spark of accidental genius, whether people get the joke or not.
The beloved Midwestern fast food chain, Culver's, decided to participate in some April Fools' festivities in 2021 with the teased release of an item called the "Curderburger." A picture of the item was posted to X with a caption reading, "One big Wisconsin Cheese Curd under a lightly buttered, toasted bun. Isn't it beautiful?" And beautiful it was. Customers flooded the comments with requests to make this April Fools' burger a reality.
Culver's didn't expect such an uproar of approval for the burger, as the concept was just a big fried cheese curd between two buns, but fast foodies were dead serious about getting their hands on it. Thousands of comments and an online petition later, the fast food chain was feeling the heat. What started as an April Fool's joke soon became a fan favorite item at Culver's.
The Curderburger was a smash hit
Culver's is known for serving fresh, never frozen beef patties, but the restaurant is also pretty good at serving jokes. Making the Curderburger real wasn't on the company's agenda at first, but after seeing the passionate response to a dairy-packed burger delight, it had no choice but to commit to the bit. In October 2021, the Curderburger was made available to order for a limited time. Customers followed through on their desires to try it, with drive-thru lines wrapping around the building at various locations.
The Curderburger's immediate sell-out was a lightning-in-a-bottle moment for a fast food company. Such hype is hard to attain, and even harder to make a reality within the few short months from April to October. Upon its release, Culver's changed the concept from a basic curd on a bun into an actual burger topped with a smaller cheese curd, and it was a smash hit. Sadly, the Curderburger remains a limited-time event, similar to the McDonald's McRib.
Not all hope is lost for those who weren't able to grab one of these yummy cheeseburgers. The Culver's Butterburger is the best fast food burger in our taste-tested ranking. Order one of these delightful patties and a side of the Wisconsin cheese curds to recreate the Curderburger at home. Culver's might've been fooling around with this creation, but the taste is no joke!