Culver's owner continues to pay employees during construction

When a Culver's restaurant in Platteville, Wisconsin, burned down last November, its owner decided he couldn't just sit by and let his 40 employees go without pay during the time it took to rebuild.

"To me, not only being the right thing to do, it made business sense to do it," Bruce Kroll explained to WISC. Kroll has owned the Culver's restaurant for the past 19 years.

Back in November, the Telegraph Herald reported Bruce Kroll's insurance for the restaurant would continue to cover the employee's payroll for another 60 days after the restaurant burned down. After that, the employees were on their own.

But the rebuilding process was going to take longer than 60 days, so Kroll decided to continue paying his employees with money out of his own pocket. WISC reports it totaled around $144,000.

"What the owner could have done is say, 'Hey, you can find another place of employment," an employee explained.

During the time the restaurant was being rebuilt, WKOW says Kroll did ask one thing of his employees: "We asked that everybody that could to go out and volunteer their time, whether it be for a charity or an organization that might need help."

Employees got together to set up a fundraiser for the Platteville Fire Department, raising about $2,000.

The newly-completed restaurant reopened its doors on June 16th. And to make this story even happier, the chain is doing well, too. In March, Culver's announced it reached its 500-location mark.

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