We Ate at a Castle

Not just any castle, mind you, but one that's generally recognized as the first U.S. fast-food burger chain. Maybe some folks reading this post already know the answer.
If not, the answer may surprise you, unless you knew the answer — White Castle.

If you knew that, did you also know that this regional hamburger chain differs from other burger chains because, unlike its burger competitors, White Castle is not a franchise operation. Since it started in 1921, this burger joint has always been a privately-owned company and remains so to this day. 

First NJ White Castle, July 1930

White Castle is beloved by burger aficionados for its menu staple of small square burgers referred to as “Sliders®.” This signature burger is made with 100% beef, steam grilled on a bed of onions, and served with a slice of pickle on a signature bun. The burgers are not cooked directly over heat.

There are over 420 White Castle outlets in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin. The most are in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; fewest are in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

As NJ natives, we've previously enjoyed these burgers. Sadly, we now live in New England where there are no White Castles in any state here. 

Grenville needed a "fix." 

Luckily, there are some White Castles in the metro NY-NJ area, even luckier, we were in NJ visiting family for the Easter holiday. There was one within 5 minutes of our South Plainfield, NJ hotel. Another was 20 minutes away in Greenbrook, NJ. We didn't visit both locations, but opted for the closest one. The design has changed from the 1930s one above to this one we dined. Of course, so have prices and a slider that was 5 cents in the 1920s is now 72 cents plus tax. Nothing retro about that.

We happily downed several sliders each — Did I mention these are small burgers? Our "combos" came with a drink and fries. The fries are nowhere as good as the burgers, so we'll skip them next time. Grenville ordered the bacon burger and my choice was the original cheeseburger. We'll also skip the bacon burger, based on Grenville's taste test. If you go to a White Castle, try the tried and true burgers or cheeseburger sliders. You won't go wrong.

Originally, burgers were sold in a paper bag after being individually put in a cardboard box (see below). Buying them this way, you got "a sack of sliders." Purchase options now include Castle Packs of 7, 8 or 9, buy'em® by the sack® of 10, Crave Case® of 30, or a Crave Crate® of 100 burgers for seriously addicted aficionados. 

Walter Anderson and Edgar Waldo “Billy” Ingram started White Castle with $700 in 1921. It was incorporated in 1924 as the White Castle System of Eating Houses Corporation. The original White Castle was on the corner of First and Main Street in Wichita, KS and is long gone.

Walter Anderson & Billy Ingram and early White Castles

A 1904 novel, The Jungle, an expose by American novelist Upton Sinclair had publicized unsanitary conditions of the U.S meat-packing industry in Chicago and other cities. Some considered the book mostly a work of fiction, but it sparked food safety legislation. The U.S. Food and Drug Act was passed in 1906 largely due to public response.

Because of Upton's novel, Anderson and Ingram wanted to change the public's perception of their new industry which had beef as the main ingredient. The two men wanted the restaurants they opened, small white buildings with stainless steel interiors, to present a sense of cleanliness. Employees dressed in uniforms with no facial or long hair, most were male back then. The same type of building existed from 1924 to 1929.

In 1933, Anderson sold his half of the business to Ingram who then closed restaurants in the smallest profit markets, including those in Wichita and Omaha, NE. He also relocated the corporate headquarters to Columbus, OH. Not surprisingly that state now has the largest number of White Castles. Yet, since 1938 there hasn't a single WC in the entire state of Kansas, where it all began. But KS folks can satisfy their burger fix in neighboring Missouri which has over 50 of them.

Since McDonald's and Burger King started up much later, there was no fast burger food when White Castle began. The company established centrally-located bakeries, meat supply plants and warehouses to self-supply the business. In 1932, Ingram set up a subsidiary to produce the iconic paper hats that employees wore, as well as other paper products used in the restaurant from packaging to serving.

White Castle initiated chain-wide standardized methods of operation to ensure that customers would receive the same product and service in every location.  The White Castle Pledge is: Serving the finest products, for the least cost, in the cleanest surroundings, with the most courteous personnel. 

Anderson is credited with also inventing the hamburger bun, kitchen assembly line and the cook as a replaceable technician. In 1934, he formed a White Castle subsidiary, Porcelain Steel Buildings (PSB) Co. to manufacture portable restaurant buildings of porcelain steel that could be moved from location to location for standardization.

In the beginning, burgers were prepared using the White Castle System, so that cooks at any location could produce nearly-identical small square burgers. Burgers were cooked according to a specific recipe: ground beef balls were placed on a hot grill and topped with tiny shredded onions, then burgers were flipped and squashed into a patty. The bottom bun was placed on top, and a pickle and the top bun were added.

That formula existed until 1949, when the five-hole hamburger patty debuted. The recipe was changed to reduce long lines of waiting customers. These five-hole burgers were steamed on a bed of shredded onions. They not only cooked faster, but this process eliminated flipping and the burgers were more flavorful. 

When the first White Castle in the far western U.S. opened in Nevada on the Las Vegas strip in 2015, it marked the company's first expansion into a new state in 56 years. Demand was so great that the restaurant closed for 2 hours to restock and sold 4,000 sliders per hour in its first 12 hours, reportedly the largest demand in its 94-year history.

Supermarket purchase to our freezer

Since 1977, a subsidiary company, White Castle Distributing, Inc., has been marketing products in supermarkets nationwide including hamburgers, cheeseburgers, breakfast burgers, veggie burgers, and black bean burgers. Availability varies by supermarket chain and, once again, Grenville luckily found them in the frozen food section of a local supermarket, so can have his "fix" at home. 

Takeout White Castle being enjoyed at family dining table in 1940s

The Ingram family’s decision not to franchise or take on debt has kept the chain relatively small compared to other fast food companies. For example, there’s nearly 40,000 McDonald’s locations worldwide; 14,000 in the U.S. alone. 

More White Castle facts . . .

• Pioneered first use of restaurant newspaper coupons which ran in a St Louis, MO, paper in June 1932. A carryout order of 5 burgers for 10 cents was a great deal during the depression as burgers were normally 5 cents each. 
• First fast-food restaurant to sell over 1 billion burgers, reaching that milestone in 1961 ahead of competitors, but WC started earlier.
• Credited with starting National Hamburger Month in 1992. Annually every May, burger promotions now tempt burger fans.

Photo Credits: Vintage b&w photos in this post were displayed inside a White Castle in South Plainfield, NJ. Very few photos had detailed captions. Seeing them was a step-back-in-time.