White Castle is celebrating their 88th birthday this year. They were establish in Wichita, Kansas by Walter A. Anderson and Billy Ingram. The restaurants were made to resemble the Water Tower in Chicago, Illinois. Each restaurant was made of small white structures with stainless steel interiors. This gave the customer the feeling of cleanliness. The small square burgers are sometimes called slyders (or gut burgers) depending on where and to who you are talking. Sliders were priced at 5 cents until the 1940’s. They were 10 cents for many years. I remember them in the 1960’s being 12 cents, but the price today in closer to $l.00.
The hamburgers were originally in a small ball. They were placed on the grill with onions and flipped once. The bun was put on top to absorb the flavors and when finished put together. Today the hamburger has five holes in them and they are not flipped at all. The steam cooks the meat and the onions are rehydrated. This method of steam grilled was unique to fast food restaurants.
In 1933 Ingram bought out Anderson. The headquarters was moved to Columbus, Ohio where it remains today. The company is family owned and operated. There are no franchises so the company has remained relatively small. As of 2007 there were only 392 White Castle outlets. Even though they are small they record the second largest sales revenue in the fast-food industry. White Castles are found in the mid-west and as far south as Tennessee. Other people in the US have to find them in the frozen food section of the grocery stores. If you haven’t tried one you are truly missing something.
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