White Castle® Announces Plans to Open First Florida Restaurant in Orlando

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Much to the delight of more than 9,300 followers of the Facebook page Bring White Castle to Florida, not to mention thousands of other "Cravers" in Florida, White Castle^® will be opening its first Florida restaurant within the next 18 months.

The 98-year-old family-owned business made the announcement today, first to the followers of Bring White Castle to Florida, and then, with the help of its beloved Royal Town Crier, to the guests at a special event at the site of its future Florida castle – in Orlando in The Village at O-Town West, part of the $1 billion O-Town West mixed-use development on Daryl Carter Parkway off of I-4.

Photo Link:
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Construction on the new restaurant, which at 4,500 square feet will be among the company's largest, is expected to begin in April 2020 and should be finished by late 2020 or early 2021. The Orlando castle marks the iconic brand's return to Florida; in the 1960s, it operated a castle in Miami.

"Florida Cravers have long been asking for us to open a castle there," said Lisa Ingram, president and CEO of White Castle and a fourth-generation family member. "We believe now is the right time for us enter the Sunshine State, and Orlando is an ideal location to launch our business there."

The move into Florida comes on the heels of White Castle's entry into another state – Arizona. White Castle opened a restaurant in Scottsdale on Oct. 23, the first company-owned castle west of the Mississippi River. Hundreds of people waited in lines for hours to purchase White Castle's craveable little hamburger, called the Original Slider^®, as well as its fish slider, its chicken and waffles slider, its plant-based Impossible™ Slider, and all of its other mouthwatering menu items.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, and known as America's original fast-food restaurant, White Castle has more than 375 restaurants in 13 states. The Florida location will bring that number to 14. Like most of the chain's other restaurants, the Orlando castle will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, satisfying the crave of White Castle fans morning, noon and night.

As part of the announcement, White Castle brought its Crave Mobile to Orlando, and fans ate up the opportunity to sample the Original Slider, cheese sliders and jalapeno cheese sliders. Many Floridians already know the tantalizing taste of White Castle thanks to the availability of the Original Slider, chicken breast sliders, veggie sliders, black bean sliders and other products in several retail outlets across Florida.

About White Castle^®

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty sliders as a family-owned business for more than 98 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider^®, made from 100% USDA inspected beef, in 1921. Today White Castle owns and operates more than 375 restaurants in 13 states and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide, in a growing number of international locations, and at military exchanges around the world. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time, is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible^™ Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than one in four of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and of its faithful fans, affectionately referred to as Cravers, many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pick-up orders any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com. 

SOURCE White Castle