How Come There Aren't More White Castle Locations?

White Castle's history dates back to 1921, so the iconic restaurant burger chain has been doing many things right over nearly a full century. If that's the case, why are there fewer than 400 locations spread out across 13 states?

White Castle's unique square shaped burgers with a whole in the middle certainly stands out against the crowded fast-food space. But the company had no interest in competing at the national level as management has been historically against franchising its business, according to CNBC.

The CEO role has been passed on to four generations and Lisa Ingram holds the title today. She told CNBC giving up control through franchising comes with the cost of giving up "the ownership of the customer and the ownership of the team member."

"And that's just not something that we have ever really been interested in doing," Ingram said.

Keep Craving White Castles

"It it isn't broken, don't fix it" is a business philosophy Ingram still holds true. Granted, it may have resulted in faster and larger growth for the company which was born before decades before McDonald's Corp MCD.

White Castle is in the midst of expanding to new territories, including Nevada where its locations will be licensed.

"We still keep coming back to [the fact] that this model has worked well for us for almost 100 years and that we believe it's a good model for us to continue into the future," Ingram said.

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Photo Courtesy Of WhiteCastle.com