On Thursday, May 19, White Castle executives and family members from the third and fourth generations made a pilgrimage to Wichita, the city where the fast-food chain was founded, in celebration of its 90th birthday year.
Local grocery store Dillon Marketplace, also celebrating 90 years in business, hosted White Castle, Wichita Cravers and local officials for a day of Original Sliders® and fun. White Castle and Dillon each gave back to the Wichita community with contributions of $9,000 each to the Kansas Food Bank. Each $9,000 donation will provide nearly 24,000 meals to hungry families in need. Additional funds raised during the Dillon event went to the Wichita Fire Department and the Wichita Police Department.
The pilgrimage also included a stop at the Sunflower Bank, which sits on the site where the first White Castle restaurant was built in 1921. White Castle presented the bank with a commemorative landmark plaque that is a stainless steel etching of the first White Castle restaurant.
“Visiting the site where the first White Castle restaurant once stood, now home to our friends at Sunflower Bank, was an invaluable opportunity of all generations of our family,” said Maryann Ingram Kelley, granddaughter of White Castle co-founder Billy Ingram.
“We are honored to share the land with such an iconic and strong-valued company like White Castle,” said John Hanley, public relations officer for Sunflower Bank.
More than 3,000 community members came to get their share of hot, fresh, steam-grilled-on-a-bed-of-onions goodness. For the event, White Castle offered two Original Slider® hamburgers for just 90 cents. In addition to the food, attendees participated in family-friendly activities, ate birthday cake and received White Castle and Dillon-branded merchandise.
“The joint birthday bash was a huge success,” Sheila Lowrie of Dillon Stores said. “The community support was amazing, and I know that the Wichita community will remember this event for years to come.”