The Discontinued Culver's Sandwich That Diners Loved

Midwest favorite Culver's is known for its delicious ButterBurgers, famous cheese curds, and creamy frozen custard. In addition to these consistent menu standouts, the Wisconsin-based fast food chain offers a variety of seasonal and limited-time items. When certain sandwiches are discontinued, customers wait in anticipation of their return. Case in point: Culver's Philly ribeye steak sandwich, a long-gone menu item that some people are still yearning for. 

Culver's introduced its take on a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich in the late 1990's. It was made with thinly sliced ribeye steak, melted cheese, and sautéed onions on a hoagie roll. A Reddit post that begins with a 1998 Culver's commercial video clip starring the Philly Ribeye steak sandwich generated plenty of nostalgia in the comments. "As long as they were not overcooked these were fantastic, especially with some chipotle sauce or the like," one Redditor stated, while another wrote, "I was around when my store discontinued this. Shame, it was a good sandwich." More comments longing for the ribeye steak sandwich's return include, "I never knew I needed something so bad," and "Please welcome this back to delicious," a reference to the Culver's slogan, "Welcome to Delicious." 

It's hard to say exactly why Culver's discontinued the Philly ribeye steak sandwich. One can speculate that it had something to do with the common reason items are discontinued from fast food restaurants — to cut ingredient costs and streamline the menu for quicker service. In the aforementioned Reddit post, one person corroborated this, stating, "They were grilled from raw so getting them fully cooked without burning them was tough, especially during a rush." Another commenter pointed out, "Nobody could afford that sandwich today ... it'd be $50." Indeed, inflation has done a number on steak prices: a whole boneless ribeye steak cost about $3.99 per pound in 1997, compared to around $16 per pound in 2026. 

If your mouth is now watering for a Philly cheesesteak, there are a few options that may be similar to the one Culver's used to sell. You could head over to Arby's, the fast food chain that has the meats, for an Angus cheesesteak made with thinly sliced Angus steak, melted American cheese, and caramelized onions on a toasted sub roll. Or, try a sub shop. Mike's Famous Philly from Jersey Mike's Subs has grilled-to-order steak, peppers, grilled onions, and American cheese. There's also the highly-rated Charleys, where the Steak Philly cheesesteak comes with USDA Choice steak, mushrooms, grilled onions, green peppers, and American cheese. Of course, if you have the time, you could always follow an easy Philly cheesesteak recipe and make your own.