Did you know that 101 years ago, the first White Castle opened right here in Wichita? There are now 377 restaurants across 13 states as part of this chain, but unfortunately, none are anywhere to be found in Kansas. Despite this, it’s tough not to celebrate America’s first fast-food hamburger chain. 🍔
Here are some quick facts:
1️⃣ Founded by Walter “Walt” Anderson and Edgar “Billy” Ingram on March 11, 1921.
2️⃣ The first one was located on Main St, where the Sunflower Bank is currently located. (Note that this is not the original building.)
3️⃣ It was started with just $700.
4️⃣ From opening until 1929, each burger was only 5¢, and from 1929-1949 they were still just 10¢.
5️⃣ The founders decided to move their base closer to where the business had expanded, resulting in the last White Castle closing in Wichita in 1938.
If you’re feeling ambitious, the nearest location is just shy of 300 miles away in Columbia, MO. Make sure to bring us back a slider if you make the trip! 🍔
Source #1 (source for all images): https://rem.ax/3LkWLyk
Source #2: https://rem.ax/3IRE5oX
As far as we can tell, this was the first White Castle building. We haven't seen that expressly stated anywhere, however.
Their first newspaper coupon came out in 1933, advertising 5 hamburgers for just 10¢.
Another fun fact: In 1961, White Castle became the first fast-food hamburger chain to sell 1 billion hamburgers!
The Crave Mobile, which travels to various places across the U.S. to serve White Castle! We tried to find their 2022 schedule, but unfortunately weren't able to locate anything at this time. We'll be sure to update this post if we see it!