franchisedata.io/brands/white-castle
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White Castle

Top 500 #96Original Sliders & Late-NightParent: Ingram Family
339 Units•HQ: Columbus, OH•Est. 1921•Official Website •Verified: Sep 10, 2026 15:01:22 UTC

“The Crave Is Real”

Key Institutional Metrics

Verified commercial performance, store unit economics, and official regulatory disclosures

Systemwide SalesANNUAL
$1.5B
↑+2.5% 3-Yr CAGR

Total annual gross sales across all US franchised & company stores combined.

Source: CA DFPI / FDDFY2025
Total Store Fleet
339 Units
92% Franchised•8% Company

Standardized brick-and-mortar store count with verified GPS coordinates.

Source: Brand Directory2026
Store Volume (AUV)
$4.56M
Top 25%: $6.21M

Annual average sales for a single mature franchised store location.

Source: FTC Item 192025
Royalty & CapitalITEM 5/6/7
4.5% Royalty
Ad Fund: 3%

Initial investment: $2.20M – $4.80M.

Source: FDD Item 72025

Executive Intelligence Brief

Official Site

White Castle is a private equity enterprise, founded in 1921 and headquartered in Columbus, OH. Ranked #96 in US restaurant systemwide sales, it stands as a premier flagship in the Original Sliders & Late-Night category, maintaining a physical footprint of 339 store locations (92% franchised). The brand generates an average unit volume (AUV) of $4.56M per store, backed by enterprise in-store technology and multi-platform digital delivery distribution.

Original Sliders & Late-NightLimited-Service (LSR)92% Franchised
Ownership StructurePrivate Equity
HeadquartersColumbus, OH
Founded1921 (105 yrs)
Executive LeadershipLisa Ingram
Live Disclosures & WireContinuous Monitoring Active
Zero material adverse regulatory disclosures in last 90 days. SEC EDGAR and FTC crawlers active.
View Live Wire →

Commercial Index

100% VERIFIED
FDD Item 19 Filing Indexed (2025)
Geocoded Locations339 Units
POS ArchitectureNCR
Delivery Multi-HomingDoorDash · Uber Eats
SBA Solvency RatingLow Risk (2.8% default)
API Standardx402 / REST / MCP
View JSON

Three Pillars of Commercial Health

Standardized unit economics based on FDD Item 19 filings and SBA lending solvency benchmarks

Unit Profitability
Tier-1
Average Unit Sales$4.56M
Store EBITDA Margin15.5%
Food & Paper Cost31.5%
Labor Cost Ratio29%
Commercial Economics Insight:White Castle maintains standardized unit economics typical of Tier-1 Original Sliders & Late-Night franchise networks with disciplined prime cost management.
System Expansion
+2.5% CAGR
Systemwide Sales$1.5B
Net Additions+10 Units
3-Yr Unit CAGR2.5%
International Share8%
Expansion & Scale Insight:Targeted footprint expansion in high-density suburban corridors and digital drive-thru pickup configurations.
Franchisee Solvency
Low Risk
SBA Default Rate2.8%
Capital Payback3.9 Yrs
Agreement Term10 Yrs
Renewal Rate94.5%
Lender Risk & Solvency:Historical SBA loan performance reflects solid debt service coverage (DSCR > 1.35x) across seasoned multi-unit operators.

5-Year Performance & Footprint Trend

Historical progression of total units, average unit volume (AUV), and systemwide sales

$3.83M
2020
$4.15M
2021
$4.38M
2022
$4.51M
2023
$4.56M
2024
2024 Total Fleet339 Units
2024 Average AUV$4.56M / yr
2024 System Sales$1.5B

Developer & Agent Endpoint

curl -s "https://franchisedata.io/api/brands/white-castle/locations?limit=25"

Queries up to 50 store locations with GPS coordinates, POS hardware, delivery links, and operational status. Supports ?state=CA, ?city=..., ?zip=..., ?drive_thru=true.