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| Lining up at Royal Castle opening in 1969 - Tallahassee State Archives of Florida/Slade |
By Jane Feehan
Not an in-depth history of two iconic burger joints, this post answers “whatever happened to.” White Castle and Royal Castle operate today. Find out where below.
White Castle
White Castle, established in 1921, is touted as the granddaddy
of burger joints. Founded with a borrowed sum of $700 by Walter A. Anderson and
E.W. “Billy” Ingram in Wichita, Kansas, the company established headquarters in Columbus,
Ohio. It was incorporated as White Castle System of Eating Houses Corporation. The
company operated at the vanguard of the carry out concept with its invitation
to “Buy ‘em by the sack.” The company also patented the use of holes in their square burgers for fast cooking. Sliders (only 12 cents) served as
mainstay of the business.
Billy Ingram (died 1966) moved to Miami where he opened two stores in 1958
(perhaps a third). The first one was located at Flagler and NW 27 Avenue. The
other unit operated near NE 163rd Street. By the mid 1960s
competition ramped up with McDonald’s, Burger King, Lum’s, Neba, Arby’s and
others claiming market space. By 1967, White Castle closed in Florida. Supply chain issues were to blame, according to news accounts.
Today the company operates more than 300 units throughout
the U.S., mostly in the Midwest and Northeast. It resumed expansion in 2015 after
a 56-year hiatus with a store in Las Vegas. News for White Castle aficionados
in Florida: their largest store (4,500 sf) opened in 2021 in Orlando off Interstate
4. Good move;
it serves more hamburgers (some plant-based) than any of their other stores. Some
say it’s the biggest burger joint in the world.
Royal Castle
William D. Singer (died in 1988) founded Royal Castle in Miami in 1938. By the
1960s, they had 150 locations in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Ohio. In 1969,
Royal Castle with its round burgers (and breakfast items) ranked third in the nation for fast food or “short order” restaurants
with 175 units.
In 1969, John Y. Brown, through his Performance Systems, Inc.,
bought the chain, which had gone public, for about $9 million. Brown had fast food experience.
He purchased Kentucky Fried Chicken from its creator Harland Sanders in 1964
for $2 million. Today it’s worth more than $19 million. Performance Systems also owned Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken when it acquired Royal Castle.
Rapid expansion took a toll on Performance Systems. Royal Castle dissolved
in 1975 (Brown served as governor of Kentucky 1979-1983 with wife and
Miss America, Phyllis George at his side. He loved South Florida where I met him
during the 1970s; he died in 2022).
Good news for Royal Castle fans: ONE remains in Miami at 2700
NW 79th Street. Owned and operated for years by James Brimberry and
his wife, Josephine, the store was purchased by their grandson James in 2019.
Sources:
Miami Herald, Nov. 13, 1958
Fort Lauderdale News, July 18, 1963
Fort Lauderdale News, May 21, 1966
Miami News, March 29, 1968
Miami Herald, March 2, 1969
New York Times, Jul 15, 1988
Miami Herald, July 15, 1988
Tampa Bay Times, Nov. 26, 2019
New York Times, Nov. 25, 2022
White Castle
BurgerBeast.com
Tags: Florida restaurant hisory, White Castle Hamburgers, Royal Castle Hamburgers