COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle, the Ohio-based fast-food hamburger chain, hosted its 29th annual Valentine's Day dinner event, helping more than 30,000 people create cherished memories with their friends, families and loved ones, including one surprise marriage proposal in San Antonio. It was the largest number of Valentine's Day dinner guests to partake in the nearly 30-year tradition.
VIDEO: White Castle and H-E-B bring one-of-a-kind Valentine's Day experience to San Antonio, TX, with pop-up White Castle restaurant.
Cravers celebrate Valentine's Day at the one-of-a-kind pop-up restaurant hosted by White Castle and H-E-B in San Antonio, TX.
White Castle kicks off Valentine's Day pop-up restaurant with $15,000 donation to the local San Antonio Food Bank.
White Castle and H-E-B host first-ever pop-up White Castle restaurant in San Antonio, TX, for Valentine's Day
Hundreds of Castles in 14 states, including a pop-up Castle in San Antonio, Texas, participated in White Castle's beloved event. Customers accustomed to counter service in a casual setting enjoyed a more formal dining experience complete with hostess seating, red and white tablecloths, tableside service and festive decorations.
"Our Valentine's Day celebration has been such a big event for us and for lovers of White Castle," said Jamie Richardson, vice president of White Castle. "We decided to expand the Valentine's Day dinner to give more of our Cravers the chance to enjoy this one-of-a-kind dining experience, and the easiest way to do this was by hosting a pop-up restaurant in a city outside of our existing footprint."
The burger chain chose San Antonio, Texas, as the site of its first-ever Valentine's Day pop-up for a few reasons. First, it's home to a relatively large number of passionate White Castle fans, affectionately called Cravers. It's also headquarters for H-E-B, one of White Castle's long-time retail partners. The grocery store chain started selling White Castle's famous square hamburgers, called Sliders, in 1988, just one year after White Castle launched its retail division. The two teamed up to make turn the idea of a pop-up Castle into a reality. The city's pleasant February weather, of course, also played a role in the decision.
"We were so excited to share the love with our fans in San Antonio, and they welcomed us with open arms," Richardson said. "We scheduled the pop-up for three days, and reservations filled up within hours. It's been an awesome experience."
In a show of appreciation for the city's warm welcome, White Castle has pledged a $15,000 donation to the San Antonio Food Bank. The company will make a $10 contribution on behalf of each diner at the pop-up this weekend and give a portion of event t-shirt sales. In addition, White Castle's Crave Mobile food truck will be open to the public on Monday, Feb. 17, providing each customer a sack of four sliders in exchange for a $5 donation to the Food Bank.
While more than 750 Cravers were celebrating in San Antonio, tens of thousands more were feeling the love at local White Castles in 13 other states. The Valentine's Day dinner event is a long-standing tradition for White Castle and a fun, affordable choice for couples, families and friends.
About White Castle®
White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty sliders as a family-owned business for more than 99 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider®, made from 100% USDA inspected beef, in 1921. Today White Castle owns and operates more than 365 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings, morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide, in a growing number of international locations, and at military exchanges around the world. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time, is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible™ Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than one in four of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and of its faithful fans, affectionately referred to as Cravers, many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pick-up orders any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com.
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