I grew up in the Westchester suburb of Miami in the 1980s, where there was no White Castle or sliders. South Florida hadn’t had a White Castle since the late 1960s.
Somehow I was aware of who White Castle was, its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, and its essential place in burger history. Throughout the Burger Beast site’s life, I’ve grown to respect White Castle immensely.
White Castle made it safe to eat burgers in the 1920s when everyone considered it questionable food. So they standardized burger buns and even created things like those branded soda-jerk paper hats everyone likes wearing on their heads.
Hamburger Collaborations
I was reaching out to hamburger-based restaurants across the United States, hoping to collaborate with them over my Burger Museum.
The Miami Meat Machine and I had already planned a trip up north when I mentioned it to Jamie Richardson (VP of White Castle). Jamie invited us to their headquarters to tour White Castle‘s HQ in Columbus, Ohio.
Done deal.
The Date Has Arrived
Flash forward to a few months after the invite, and we’re in Columbus, Ohio. I got goosebumps just looking at the building because of all the history I knew would be inside.
So I was ecstatic when I saw glass case after glass case with memorabilia and ephemera from White Castle’s history.
There was also a sign welcoming “Burger Beast” and Friends.
After a brief wait in the lobby downstairs, Jamie showed up and took us around for a tour of the premises. We got to see the Craver’s Hall of Fame Wall (hoping to make it on there one day), the cafeteria (which also had great signs that I fell in love with), the offices, and a bunch of porcelain signs from old White Castles.
The crew and I sat down in their conference room, where he told us the history of White Castle. I tried to get him to admit that they were planning to open a location in Miami, but he didn’t budge on that topic.
Off To The Castle
We were given gift bags (a very nice gesture) and then whisked off to the nearest White Castle in Jamie’s White Castle mobile, a Sprinter-type vehicle covered in White Castle logos. He told us his teenage daughter is embarrassed to be dropped off at school in it, hilarious.
After a tour of the White Castle flagship store, we sat down for lunch. I ate a couple of double siders with cheese and a couple of the jalapeño cheese sliders with an order of fries & a Coke.
There is something craveable about White Castle. Why bring that up? We considered getting some sliders for the road in the drive-thru after lunch.
Later, we grabbed some White Castle in Erlanger, Kentucky, driving to Atlanta. We knew it’d be a while before we had a chance to have another one.
Thank you to White Castle and Jamie Richardson for rolling out the red carpet for us. They outdid themselves; class acts all the way.
Do I know more than I’m letting on about White Castle‘s future? Next topic, please!
can’t understand why they removed the White Castle years ago on west fifth ave. near grandview. it broke my heart and subsequently many new and successful carryout restaurants have emerged on that street. I’m still seeing a therapist trying to get over that terrible decision. billy Ingram must be rolling in his grave since he heard that news. there is no convenient location in the grandview area to get sliders, I travel all the way to Kenny road. I now live at Westminster Thurber and daily see the White Castle headquarters and it depresses me. please make me happy by putting a restaurant somewhere conveniently in the Northwest part of columbus. if you don’t I will have a heart to heart chat with billy Ingram and it won’t be good for you. respectfully, Brian
do you know if this is still open? can’t find any information on it
The original White Castle building was torn down in 2018.
Looks very cool send me a catalog?
Word to the wise. They will not mess up anyone’s order if you decide to go à la carte
How I wish that we would get a White Castle in Colorado. The closest one is in Columbia MO and now in Las Vegas, both locations are about 750 miles from Denver. I was surprised to hear that they opened in Las Vegas because I thought that they only opened up in clusters so that they could have an distribution network. Any insight into how they supply the one in Las Vegas?