Ohio Ag Connection - White Castle Announces Plans for 100th Birthday

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White Castle Announces Plans for 100th Birthday
Ohio Ag Connection - 08/07/2020

Each year, White Castle seeks entries for its Cravers Hall of Fame, and this year is no exception. America's first fast-food hamburger chain and home of The Original Slider has posted a call for entries on its website, hoping to get heartfelt stories that will earn a small, elite group of its most loyal fans, affectionately known as Cravers, a coveted spot in the 2020 class of the White Castle Cravers Hall of Fame.

In addition to their selection, the 2020 inductees will also receive an extra special tribute: Their stories will be featured on select White Castle restaurant packaging in 2021, which is White Castle's 100th birthday and the 20th anniversary of the Cravers Hall of Fame.

White Castle always treats it Cravers Hall of Fame inductees like royalty, bringing them on an all-expense paid trip to Columbus, Ohio, the site of White Castle's home office, where they are wined and dined and formally inducted into the Cravers Hall of Fame. (This year's in-person celebration will depend on the status of the pandemic.) But for its 100th year, White Castle decided to step up the royal treatment by also showcasing inductees' stories on packaging.

"We're about to enter our 100th year as a family-owned business because of the support of our passionate cravers," said Jamie Richardson, vice president with White Castle. "We wanted to do something extra special for those inducted into the Cravers Hall of Fame this year. Featuring our Hall of Famers on our packaging is the perfect way to celebrate their devotion and to share their extraordinary stories far and wide."

In another nod to its 100th birthday, White Castle will be awarding, for the first time, a special collectible to the 100 entries that best exemplify why White Castle is meaningful to the them. All entries are judged on brand loyalty, creative presentation, originality and magnitude of the crave.

Cravers can apply for the Hall of Fame on the White Castle website. Entries are due by Sept. 30.

Past notable inductees include rock 'n' roll icon Alice Cooper, comic pioneer Stan Lee, award-winning fashion designer Telfar Clemens, and the stars of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Kal Penn and John Cho.

White Castle started serving The Original Slider in 1921. Today, White Castle owns and operates more than 360 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide. The Original Slider was named in 2014 as Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time. White Castle's Impossible Slider was named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger."

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