White Castle
White Castle is probably the oldest hamburger chain in the United States. They are known for their square hamburgers, which for a long time were priced at ten cents as they grew steadily smaller. The typical restaurant architecture features a white exterior with a crenelated tower at the corner.The chain was founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1921 when entrepreneur Edgar Waldo Ingram partnered with cook Walter Anderson,who had developed an efficient way of cooking hamburgers quickly. By 1934 the company had moved corporate headquarters to Columbus, Ohio and was wholly owned by Ingram.
The company has remained privately held and its restaurants are company-owned, not franchised. Co-founder Billy Ingram was followed as head of the firm by his son E.W. Ingram Jr. and grandson E.W. Ingram III.
Its burgers are also sold by the sack in some stores, and in frozen six-packs in grocery stores nationwide.
