Whenever I mention that White Castle existed in Miami, most folks think I’m confused with Royal Castle, but I’m not. I own a book called By The Sackful, and in it, on page 104, there’s this:
A White Castle-shaped spaceship landing pad in Miami! Billy Ingram retired to Miami in 1958 and built three Castles there. The design of this location echoed the space-age angles and the futuristic and glittering glass walls of the big hamburger chains that had sprung up to compete with White Castle in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The company closed the Florida operations in 1967 due to inefficient supply distribution.
This was my starting point to finding information on the mythical existence of White Castle in Miami.
White Castle in Miami Research
I came across this ad posted in the Miami Archives blog:
As luck would have it, two restaurant addresses are listed:
North Miami Beach: 1199 N. Miami Beach Blvd. (N.E. 163rd St.)
Miami: 2698 West Flagler Street
After scouring the Miami News archives, I found this article dated November 12, 1958, about White Castle’s expansion into Miami. The story also reveals the address of the White Castle Office/Warehouse (3250 NW 38th Street).
Even though the By The Sackful book mentions the existence of 3 locations, I can only verify the two above.
White Castle Miami Pictures
These were the best things I found. Yup, I found photos from 1960 of the two White Castles in Miami.
Check out these beauties:
A more in-depth history of White Castle is in my book All About the Burger.
*All images courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.
Yes I ate at the White Castle at Flagler in the 60’s
But does anyone remember a White Castle in the area of NW 60’s St Miami Fl?
I am almost sure that I ate there and saw it many times when I drove by
It wasn’t a White Castle maybe Burger Castle?
I ate at the White Castle on Flagler as it was close to Miami High school. I was a student from 1964-1967
Wish I would have been around, I’m jealous.
What a masterful piece of writing! Seriously! Your enthusiasm and drive for “the whole story” makes historical research sound like a blast!
(I have personally been known to find it so, and it’s great to find a fellow freak exploring a little known but important aspect of our collective past.
Thanks, Burger Beast–
Thank you.
This is neat, and sad. Wish they were still in Miami, well, Florida. My mom was very moved to see these pics, she was around back then. Thank you for this story, nice to see things back then.
I didn’t know. Thanks for the read and info.