04/29/2022
White Castle® Celebrates Successful First Year in Orlando
This summer, the Orlando Castle plans to move to 24-hour operations and launch online ordering with pickup and delivery service from a new in-line store
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Starting May 3, Craver Nation can join the celebration with free swag while supplies last and “rounding up” to support Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. (April 28, 2022) – White Castle®, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, opened its restaurant in Orlando, Florida to much fanfare on May 3, 2021, and the excitement has yet to subside. In nearly 12 months since the grand opening, the restaurant has become the top performer among White Castle's more than 350 restaurants, on pace to sell five million Sliders by its anniversary date.
Besides selling a record-number of hot-and-tasty Sliders of all varieties, the Orlando location used 40,000 freshly cracked eggs to make its tantalizing breakfast Sliders, which are sold all day long – a new White Castle record. If stacked end to end, the eggs used since last May would encircle Lake Eola more than once.
"We had so many loyal fans in Central Florida who were eagerly anticipating White Castle's arrival, but the response this past year has far exceeded our expectations," said Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle. "Everyone in the Orlando area has been so warm and welcoming, and they have a Crave the size of the Sunshine State.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said, “We salute White Castle on a record-breaking first year in Central Florida and thank them for creating jobs for our residents. White Castle’s presence has added to a blockbuster year for our hotels and convention business, and we expect that pace to continue this summer.”
The opening of the Orlando Castle – the largest free-standing White Castle in the world – marked the beloved brand’s return to Florida since operating four restaurants in Miami in the 1960s. White Castle, a 101-year-old family-owned business, has more than 350 restaurants in 13 states.
Located in southwest Orlando at Unicorp’s $1 billion The Village at O-Town West mixed-use development, White Castle employs 120 team members and managers, accommodates 200 guests and features televisions, free WIFI and a kitchen that's entirely visible from the dining room. It has a Coca-Cola® Freestyle machine that has served over 63,000 gallons of Coca-Cola® Freestyle soft drinks the past year – enough to fill the average residential swimming pool 3- ½ times!
“Our vision at White Castle is to ‘feed the souls of craver generations everywhere’ and our mission is to ‘create memorable moments every day,” Richardson continued. “We have loved every minute meeting our new neighbors, whether long-time Cravers or new to the Castle.”
Those minutes with Cravers, along with ordering options – are about to expand, said company officials. To satisfy the crave of White Castle fans morning, noon and night, the Orlando Castle is scheduled to shift to 24-hours-per-day operations this summer – a customer benefit for which White Castle is famous. The Orlando Castle is currently open for take-out, dine-in and drive-through service seven days per week from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m.
In addition, and in response to the overwhelming popularity of the Orlando location, White Castle plans to launch online ordering with pickup and delivery service out of approximately 1,800 square feet of in-line space located directly behind the Orlando Castle. When ordering online, customers can opt to pick up their orders by parking and entering the new store or have one of the delivery partners (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Postmates) bring the Crave to their door. Dine-in, take out and drive-through options will continue to be available at the adjacent Castle.
The new in-line store adds to the existing White Castle Virtual Kitchen located at 18 N. Dollins Ave. near downtown Orlando in operation for online ordering, delivery and carryout service.
White Castle fans can join the celebration in several ways:
* Members of Craver Nation will receive a free “eight-piece birthday cake on a stick” between May 3-7 while supplies last. One redemption per customer. Anyone can sign up for Craver Nation in advance of ordering to redeem the offer.
* White Castle has selected Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (SHFBCF) as its Orlando area promotional partner for its “Round Up” program. Starting on May 3 and continuing for two years, White Castle customers can opt to “round up” at the time of purchase to an amount greater than their bill. All “rounded up” funds will be donated to SHFBCF.
“More than one in seven people, including one in five kids, experience hunger at any given time in our community, and an additional 95 million meals a year are needed to fill the hunger gap,” said SHFBCF Chief Development Officer Greg Higgerson, CFRE. “We’re honored and humbled that White Castle has selected us as their non-profit partner of choice for this effort, making it easy for Cravers to support their neighbors facing hunger every day.”
"We are so glad to have a Castle in Orlando," Richardson added. "Even through the pandemic, we continue to renew acquaintances and make new friends every day. We're so thankful for our team members and all they do to serve up that one-of-a-kind, steamed-grilled taste our customers love and crave."
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 101 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider® in 1921. Today, White Castle owns and operates more than 350 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers’ cravings morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide. 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. In 2021, 100 years after the first Slider was sold, Fast Company named the fast-food pioneer one of the “10 Most Innovative Dining Companies.” White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and also for its faithful fans (“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 pickup orders at any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle’s delivery partners. For more inform
About Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (SHFBCF)
SHFBCF is a member of Feeding America – the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. SHFBCF secures and distributes food and grocery products to approximately 550 local nonprofit feeding programs throughout Central Florida. In the past year, with the help of food and financial donors, volunteers and a caring, committed community, the food bank has distributed enough food for 96 million meals to partner programs such as food pantries, soup kitchens, women’s shelters, senior centers, day care centers and Kids Cafes. In addition, Second Harvest’s 16-week culinary program teaches foodservice-based technical, life and employability skills to economically hard-pressed adults at no cost to them. Second Harvest is distributing enough food for a quarter of a million meals every day to the six-county service area. To learn more about SHFBCF, visit
