Culver's Is Ditching This Popular Fountain Soda, And Some Fans Are In Mourning

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Next time you pop by Culver's for a ButterBurger (which sets the chain apart from other fast food joints), your drink options are going to look slightly different. The Midwestern-based burger and frozen custard restaurants are making a tiny tweak to soda offerings, swapping one bright yellow, citrusy, caffeinated soda for a cherry-flavored cola. Culver's has decided to replace Mello Yello with Cherry Coke, so those who are looking for a Mountain Dew-adjacent pick-me-up are now out of luck. (Though I do question why you wouldn't go for Culver's specialty root beer, which tastes better than any other soda at the store).

The remaining citrus sodas now come down to two: Sprite and Fanta Orange. Notably, neither of those contains caffeine, so if you want a boost, you'll have to opt for a different Coke product. Though if truth be told, sometimes it's hard even to remember if Mello Yello's still even around. Of course, some Culver's fans have already noticed. One person commented in a Reddit thread, "Was going to get Mello Yello on Thursday when we stopped there and it was gone. Didn't ask why but now it makes sense. Must not have been selling well enough."

The most substantial shift in Culver's drink lineup actually came in 2023, when the chain switched loyalties from Pepsi to Coke products. This is why Culver's doesn't carry Mountain Dew — the Dew is a Pepsi product. Dr Pepper is also part of a different company (Keurig Dr Pepper in North America), but it's still in the current lineup as well. That change caused a bit of a bigger fuss, since this changed essentially almost everything on offer at the soda fountain. 

For the record, Coke is easily the dominating force behind soda fountains at chains (you can check this list to find out which ones sell Coke over Pepsi). But fans will be fans, and when you mess with things like the starting lineup of a soda fountain, there's sure to be a bit of grumbling from soda enthusiasts. We're just giving you Mello Yello fans a heads up before you head to Culver's. If you really want it that badly, you'll just have to pick some up separately to drink with your high quality fried cod sandwich.