COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The country's first fast food hamburger chain, White Castle, is the official sponsor of National Hamburger Month, celebrated each May 1-31. The company's signature 2 1/2" square 100% beef patty with five equally spaced holes has developed an elite cult following in its 86 years of existence, spawning cravers from all over the world who clamor for the unique, steam-grilled-on-a-bed-of-onions taste that no other hamburger can deliver. The company will celebrate with various grand opening events, call for entries announcements for their annual recipe contest, the Crave Time Cook Off, and for the Cravers Hall of Fame competition.
The history of White Castle is celebrated in a new exhibit at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus called "White Castle: The History You Crave" that runs through 2007. The panel exhibit includes more than 100 artifacts and images from White Castle's 86-year history, nearly all of it as a Columbus-based company. Items on display include plates and mugs, fountain glassware, posters, burger boxes, match books, employee recognition pins, paper caps for men and women, sacks and a White Castle "clock" that has no hands because "we are open all day and all night."
The exhibit was developed when Coca-Cola invited White Castle to create an exhibit honoring their 85th anniversary and the 85 year partnership with Coca- Cola. The Ohio Historical Society, which holds the White Castle collections, assisted in selecting items for the exhibit which opened at the World of Coca- Cola in Atlanta, Georgia, in May of 2006 and ran through December, 2006.
Of interest to hamburger aficionados, in 1992, White Castle sponsored a contest to find the birthplace of the hamburger. The competing cities were Athens, TX; Seymour, WI; and Hamburg, NY. An overwhelming majority of Americans called in their vote for Seymour, Wisconsin, naming Seymour the "original" home of the hamburger. A museum of hamburger history opened in Seymour in 1993, officially dubbed "The Hamburger Hall of Fame".
The first fast food hamburger chain in America, White Castle was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921. The chain has over 400 locations in 11 states.
White Castle System, Inc.
