Forty years ago, Culver’s opened its first location in small-town Sauk City, Wisconsin, a town with a population still smaller than 4,000 residents.

That small-town feel continues for Culver’s, which just opened its first location in Hendry County’s LaBelle, a city that recently eclipsed 5,000 residents and is skyrocketing in growth.

What had been a vacant lot at 44 Lashley St., fronting State Road 80, the main road through town, served its first ButterBurgers and cups and cones of frozen custard Dec. 2.

“It’s a great community,” said owner Lea Nour, who also owns and operates the Culver’s off U.S. 41 in south Fort Myers. “People like coming to a small city. We’re creating jobs here.”

Nour said she hired 80 employees to start the new LaBelle location. Most of them come from LaBelle, Clewiston and Moore Haven.

Known more for its “mom- and- pop” feel, LaBelle will be looking for ways to integrate national chains like Culver’s with the rest of the local business landscape, said Terri Marsh, executive director of the LaBelle Chamber of Commerce. She attended the grand opening.

“We’re happy that they’re here,” Marsh said. “They have hired a tremendous amount of employees. I just know that the growth is coming. Both the coasts are built up. Everything is moving inland.”

Marsh said the challenge will be welcoming the chains while maintaining loyalty with the locally owned restaurants. In the case of Culver’s, the concept’s a little bit of both; Nour owns the franchise and lives locally, in nearby Lehigh Acres.

“We try to promote all of our local businesses,” Marsh said. “We know growth is coming. So, we have to be ready for it.”

Nour compared LaBelle to Sauk City, home of Culver’s No. 1.

The LaBelle location marks the 994th location across the country and the 18th in Southwest Florida, plus additional nearby locations in North Port and Arcadia.

Culver’s plans to open its 1,000th location next week, in New Haven, Indiana.

“It’s the people,” Nour said. “The culture in here. It feels like home. You come in, and it’s just like in Wisconsin. How you feel going to the farm.

“There’s great people here. I talked to everybody at the chamber. I talked to business owners here. It’s great people when you come here. It’s like home.”

Yesmenia Rivera hopes to join Nour someday as a fellow Culver’s franchise owner.

Rivera, who is approaching her second anniversary with Culver’s, already has worked her way from team member to trainer, manager, training coordinator, first assistant and now general manager of the LaBelle location.

“I’m very excited,” Rivera said of the current and future business opportunities. “This is a big step for us, especially for me. I made it my goal to do everything I could to become general manager. The next step is owner.”