In a sea of fast food competitors, White Castle stands out.
Perhaps it's the small size of its iconic sliders, the mystique of its busy late night
hours, or scarcity in certain states, but the company has been successful creating a
"crave-worthy" business.
Here's the untold truth of White Castle.
Making history
As strange as it sounds, America's entire fast food industry began with White Castle
back in 1921.
With just $700, Edgar Waldo Ingram and Walter Anderson opened a tiny burger shack in Wichita,
Kansas.
Yes, it looked like a little white castle from the beginning, and the rest is history.
Legend has it that's where Anderson invented the hamburger bun as well, changing burgers
forever.
"Why did the slider go to the gym?"
"I don't know."
"To get better buns!
Get it?!"
"Hahaha"
Want in on the deal?
That's too bad, because the company likes to keep its fast food empire within the family
and doesn't franchise.
Why?
It mostly comes down to keeping restaurant locations within close proximity to its supply
facilities, and while that means they have far fewer locations than they could, it's
all about quality.
That refusal to franchise also comes with a weird footnote: since moving their headquarters
to Ohio in 1933 and closing their last Kansas location in 1938, there are no White Castles
left in their home state.
Health and cleanliness
White Castle was founded at a time the American public was dubious about the cleanliness and
safety of many foods, and that's why the founders decided to make their restaurant white.
They wanted a look that gave the place a sense of cleanliness, and it worked.
Employees working behind the counter were also held to strict standards.
Old White Castle employee checklists show that they were told to be clean shaven, and
were warned about bad body odor and bad breath, and needed to have their hair neatly combed
and tucked under their hat.
This level of cleanliness has continued, and White Castle was one of the first fast food
chains to show transparency by displaying restaurant health scores online.
Cleanliness and safety go hand-in-hand, and White Castle also went to extreme lengths
to disprove the early 20th-century idea that burgers were super-dangerous.
One University of Minnesota med student risked everything to eat 13 weeks of burgers for
a joint study.
When he came out the other side absolutely fine, White Castle used his study to prove
burgers weren't deadly after all.
Changing for the best
The price isn't the only thing that's changed since 1921 and over the years, the cooking
process changed, too.
While burgers were once cooked by placing small balls of meat on the grill and squishing
them, that's not the case today.
Now, frozen beef patties are cooked on a griddle over a bed of onions and water, and they cook
super fast thanks to the small holes punched in them.
That last part was a suggestion made by employee Earl Howell in 1954, and it allows for a faster
cook with no need to flip.
Fast service at a good price is popular with all customers, but you might not expect vegans
to be waiting in line at White Castle.
They absolutely are, though, because this burger joint has been involved in one of the
biggest recent vegan successes in fast food.
White Castle began working on a plant-based patty with Impossible Foods back in 2017,
and The Impossible slider began popping up on White Castle menus at 140 locations in
New York, New Jersey, and Chicago before going nationwide, becoming an instant hit.
It's a hot date spot
White Castle has been marketing itself as a Valentine's Day destination for several
years now, and it's been a major success.
A whopping 35,000 reservations were expected for Valentine's Day festivities at participating
restaurants in 2015.
In addition to waiter service, decorations, and roses, the company even rolled out new
menu items like bite-sized shrimp nibblers.
Celebrating the love between you and your significant other at White Castle obviously
isn't for everybody, but for couples with a sense of humor looking to keep it casual,
the idea has been a big hit.
The romance is so real they've even hosted a wedding, and the happy couple tied the knot
at an Indianapolis location in 2012.
Hall of Fame
For those who have truly taken their love of burgers to the next level, the White Castle
Cravers Hall of Fame awaits.
Getting in isn't easy, and of the thousands who apply just a handful are accepted.
Anybody who feels they have a really good White Castle story or can prove their undying
devotion is invited to apply, but their panel of judges only selects around a dozen applicants
each year.
Among some of the more famous names who can claim membership are the creators and actors
of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and rocker Alice Cooper, who has loved the burgers since
his childhood.
"If we're on this side of the Mississippi, if we pass a White Castle we stop, so ya know,
this'll go on the bus"
Harold and Kumar
White Castle had their time in the Hollywood spotlight with the 2004 movie Harold & Kumar
Go To White Castle, but it almost didn't happen.
Screenwriters initially had the two friends searching for a Krispy Kreme location to satisfy
their munchies, but when the doughnut chain backed out of the idea, a fictional hot dog
stand was written in.
Finally, they got in touch with White Castle executives, who loved the idea.
Jamie Richardson, who was White Castle's director of marketing at the time, said,
"It was like a love letter to White Castle."
There's some truth to the fiction, too.
According to Foursquare, an impressive 21.5 percent of the chain's business happens between
10 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Who would have thought?