This Culver's Sister Chain Forgoes Burgers For Southern BBQ

When you think about Culver's, your mind probably turns to Butterburgers, cheese curds, or even that beloved fish dinner that joins the menu during Lent. You probably don't think "BBQ," and that makes sense, because the Culver's connection to ribs and pulled pork is tangential — it's sister companies with Jim 'N Nick's Community Bar-B-Q under the Roark Capital Group. Roark, which acquired both Culver's and Jim 'N Nick's under its private equity umbrella within months of each other in 2017, also has a hand in food giants Auntie Anne's, Arby's, and Cinnabon, just to rattle off a few. While all those names are household mainstays, Jim 'N Nick's is quietly raising the stakes in BBQ, delivering what its website calls a "celebration of Alabama, but a reverence for the bar-b-q tradition across the South."

The 63 Jim 'N Nick's locations in seven Southern states (as of this writing) were born from one repurposed pizza restaurant in Birmingham. According to its copy, the founders of Jim 'N Nick's aimed to set themselves apart from the countless comers in the local smoker scene by making good on the promise of "[n]o freezers, no microwaves, and no shortcuts." (Culver's, notably, is one major fast food chain that never uses frozen burger patties.) And, while a lack of a smoker is a BBQ restaurant red flag that you shouldn't ignore, Jim 'N Nick's smokes all its own meats for 12 hours. It also dishes up gotta-have BBQ "trimmings" like baked beans, coleslaw, greens, mac, chili, and biscuits.

No eatery enjoys unanimous praise, but you can't throw a stone on social media without running into a good word about Jim 'N Nick's. "I'll be honest... for a chain spot, they earned my respect. After seeing how much they do from scratch and the work that goes into it, I tip my hat to them," one Facebook review stated. An Instagram page dedicated to Pensacola food reviews also lavished on the praise: "Their BBQ is smoked with their own rubs & hickory smoke, so every bite just melts in your mouth [...] I love that it's quick-casual, so you get amazing food without the wait or get it to go via the drive thru!" 

The love spread up to Atlanta, as seen on a YouTube video made by a Georgia visitor: "Aside from the classic and delicious spare ribs (an award winning dish for 10 years in a row!), the brisket is a must order at Jim 'N Nicks. Each side dish is better than the next, but nothing goes better with BBQ than bourbon. Jim 'N Nick's offers a hodge podge of options, truly giving the people what they want — good, old fashioned southern BBQ."

The concept at Jim 'N Nick's is definitely interesting ... all the care and consideration of a hole-in-the-wall BBQ joint spread across dozens of chain locations. Does this Culver's cousin actually manage to do the darn thing as well as your favorite Southern brisket shack? That's, of course, a matter of personal opinion ... but the widespread love we're seeing for this restaurant has us wanting to at least try it out and see for ourselves.