is the oldest
American Hamburger Fast-food Restaurant chain. It is known for square burgers, commonly referred to as "sliders" (or "slyders"), which were priced at 5
Cent s until the
1940s , and remained at ten cents for years thereafter while growing smaller. For several years, when the original burgers sold for 5 cents, White Castle periodically ran promotional ads in local newspapers which contained coupons offering 5 burgers for 10 cents, takeout only. The typical White Castle restaurant architecture features a white exterior with a crenelated tower at one corner to resemble a
Medieval Castle . The
Chicago Water Tower , which stands on
Michigan Avenue , was the main model for the classic building.
The company was founded in
1921 in
Wichita, Kansas when
Entrepreneur Edgar Waldo "Billy" Ingram partnered with cook
Walter Anderson , who had developed an efficient way of cooking hamburgers quickly. Anderson's original method used freshly ground beef and fresh onions.
The ground beef was formed into balls by machine, 18 to a pound. The balls were placed upon a hot grill and topped with a handful of fresh thinly shredded onion. Then they were flipped so that the onion was under the ball. The ball was then squashed down, turning the ball into a very thin patty, The bottom of the bun was then placed atop the cooking patty with the bun top on top of that so that the juices from the beef and the onion would permeate the bun. After grilling, a slice of dill pickle was inserted before serving. Management decreed that any additives, such as ketchup or mustard, must be added by the customer. Anderson's method is not in use by the chain today, having changed when the company switched from using fresh beef and fresh onion to small, frozen square patties (originally supplied by Swift & Co.) which are cooked atop a bed of dehydrated onions laid out on a grill. The heat and steam rises up from the grill, through the onions. In
1949 five holes in the patty were added to facilitate quick and thorough cooking. The very thin patties are not flipped throughout this process. This "steam grilled" method is unique among major fast food restaurants.
Ingram's business savvy, argues David Gerard Hogan in ''Selling 'Em By the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food'', not only was responsible for White Castle's success, but for the popularization of the hamburger. For example, to counter charges that burgers were not healthy, Ingram paid several young men to dress as doctors and eat White Castle hamburgers: the idea being that if doctors ate it, it had to be healthy. This same logic led Ingram to fund a study in which a medical student went on a ten-week diet of nothing but White Castles and water. The experiment, though dubious, yielded results and increased legitimacy for the hamburger in general and White Castle in particular.
In
1933 Ingram bought out Anderson, and the following year the company moved corporate headquarters to
Columbus, Ohio . The company remains privately held and its restaurants are company-owned; they are not
Franchised in the United States (international White Castle outlets are a different matter). Co-founder Billy Ingram was followed as head of the firm by his son E.W. Ingram Jr. and grandson E.W. Ingram III.
White Castle was an early example of successful fast food marketing. While the White Castle company is based on four earlier hamburger stands owned by Anderson, the current name was chosen by Ingram in 1921 to distinguish it from other, less salubrious fast food outlets that many consumers were reluctant to visit. (White Castle's own facilities, prior to 1921, were considered shoddy by some.) "White" was chosen for its connotations of
Purity , while the "Castle" element was selected as it suggests stability and permanence. This factor was essential in the store's early successes, so much so that several chains (some of which still exist, such as
Krystal ) imitated the formula.
White Castle's innovative approach to preparing and presenting its hamburgers created a loyal following that, over time, developed slang used today by patrons and restaurant staff to communicate an order or otherwise discuss White Castle products. For example, a customer ordering a "sack of six with both", will receive six burgers with both
Ketchup and
Mustard (this is also a reference to White Castle's habit of keeping three bottles of condiments at hand for the burgers: ketchup, mustard, and a combination of the two—or "both"). An individual who consumes 6 or more "slyders" in one sitting earns the distinction "slyder pilot". Its burgers are also sold in frozen boxes in grocery stores nationwide. White Castle purists, however, argue that frozen Slyders only loosely resemble those sold in the restaurants.
White Castle's marketing campaign capitalizes on the unique qualities of its product. "The Crave" is depicted in radio and television spots as a sort of
Addiction to White Castle burgers. An individual afflicted by "The Crave" can only be satisfied by Slyders. While "The Crave" marketing strategy is presented in a light hearted, tongue-in-cheek fashion, many loyal patrons of the restaurant contend they do become afflicted by "The Crave" from time to time. It is argued that the size, construction and cooking method of White Castle burgers is unique among fast food products. Therefore, it is conceivable that "The Crave", in fact, is a specific yearning for the attributes possessed only by Slyders. Another possible explanation is that affordability and convenience of White Castle burgers makes it an ideal choice after one suddenly feels peckish. This is more true after consumption of alcohol which heightens one's appetite for carbohydrates and fat.
Food from White Castle has long been considered to be a part of
Cannabis Culture since one is also said to be afflicted with "The Crave" if they are under the influence of Cannabis. This is extremely prominent in
Stoner Film ''
Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle .''
Every year, White Castle offers to reserve a candlelit table for two with a server at their restaurants for
Valentine's Day .
In
2003 , White Castle unveiled a new
Logo . In that same year, the new slogan was "What You Crave."
- White Castle closed its original stores in Kansas in 1938, and attempted a failed return to the Kansas City area in the 1990s. White Castle recently opened five new Castles in Kansas. In fact, as noted below on "locations", the chain's extent is strictly limited to the eastern/southeastern sections of the Midwest , with the major exception of the greater New York area.
White Castle can be found in the following regions in the
United States {Link without Title} :
