Operations
White Castle turns to Night Castle late at night. With restaurants open until 1 a.m. or later, the brand has become an oasis for late-night Cravers.
Photo: White Castle
July 11, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Managing Editor, Networld Media Group
Long after most restaurants have dimmed their lights and locked their doors, a beacon of late-night indulgence continues to shine brightly across the American landscape: White Castle.
For decades, the iconic fast-food chain has been a haven for night owls, shift workers and anyone craving those signature small, square burgers in the wee hours. Its commitment to serving up its distinctive sliders and crinkle-cut fries around the clock has solidified White Castle’s status as a beloved institution, a reliable stop when the rest of the world has gone to sleep.
Late-night hours
Ninety-one percent of White Castle restaurants are open until 1 a.m. or later and 72% are open 24/7. That makes snacking around the clock pretty easy. QSRweb.com reached out, via a phone interview, to Jamie Richardson, vice president of marketing and public relations for the brand, to learn how late nights affect sales, customers and the bottom line.
“We want to be there for all our craving customers,” Richardson said, “and it’s a part of our heritage. We’ve been around 104 years as a family owned business, and many of our castles have been staying open 24 hours before it was cool. That’s something we started doing in the 1920s with the idea that no matter where you are, whether you’re ending that third shift or out on a night with friends, White Castle is the late-night oasis that can welcome you home and give you some hot and tasty food to either end your evening or start your morning early.”
White Castle, which has more than 350 restaurants, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Richardson said the brand has different customers no matter what town a restaurant is built in. There’s a group called the “Crave Committed” who call White Castle their No.1 spot. They’re visiting the brand often, but White Castle is also reaching out to a group it calls the “Crave Curious.”
“We find that late night especially appeals to the Crave Curious,” Richardson said. “Maybe they’ve heard of White Castle. Maybe they visit other fast food but they haven’t had a chance to get to see us. We think that making it even easier, removing the barrier of space and time — having that drive-thru open at 2 a.m. or whenever they wander in — it makes us happy because it gives us a chance to make new friends and build the business as well.”
Photo: White Castle
Staffing
The brand has been a late-night Mecca for decades, and Richardson said it has operations down to a science. White Castle has been certified as “A Great Place to Work” for the fifth year in a row, and Richardson said the reason is because it has a great team. General managers, on average, have been with the brand for 21 years, “so he or she, when they’re given the keys to the castle, they know how to make it happen,” Richardson said.
General managers are tasked with finding and keeping great staff. Richardson said there’s a special crew who enjoy working late-night hours in the restaurants and added it’s a competitive advantage that White Castle plays close to their vests.
To decide if the late-night hours are worth it for White Castle, the brand looks for changes in customer behavior, typically measured by sales. Late-night delivery is also important. People might not gather at a restaurant, instead choosing to gather at home.
“We think it’s a change that’s here to stay,” Richardson said of third-party delivery, “and so we’re leaning into it as much as we can and making it easier for our Cravers to get what they have a hankering for.”
Thursday through Saturday nights are popular times for delivery and orders are usually not for one or two people — they generally for a crowd, Richardson said.
Loyalty
White Castle’s Craver Nation Rewards program allows the brand to dole out different offers to various fans at different times.
“Something magical happens when the sun goes down and White Castle becomes Night Castle,” Richardson said. “These night Castle deals — we’re calling them ‘Deals After Dark’ — are a perfect fit because we’re able to get the offers to the person who is interested. And what’s so wonderful about it is it’s so easy to earn (rewards). All you have to do is download the app and join Craver Nation and you’re instantly eligible. So at 8 p.m. an offer will show up on your phone. You can come on in, place your order and give us the code that corresponds with your offer, and you’ll get that deal.”
One current offer featured four cheese sliders, a three-piece cheese stick order, a small fry and a small soda. The deals are available from June 20 through Sept 7.
The brand also offers $5 off if you order delivery through the White Castle app. The company has a partnership with UberEats, but the order is placed via the app.
Security
Late-night hours have been a part of operations for decades. When asked if security has been an issue for late nights, Richardson said the brand knows its neighborhoods and are thoughtful about anything they can do to create the best working environment for staff.
“Every location is different in terms of how we evaluate (security) and it’s always with an eye towards the real world in terms of going towards it with eyes wide open,” Richardson said, “with the understanding that we have neighborhoods that we serve that we’re there for our customers and we’re always going to be focused on providing the right level of security and investment in security to protect our team members as well.”
Photo: White Castle
Merchandising
White Castle has even developed a line of Night Castle merchandise that includes a baseball jersey, a T-shirt, a table pong set (cups included), a popcorn bucket and more.
“We’re always coming up with new things in the ‘House of Crave,'” Richardson said. “We find that our fans love that. We’re really fortunate because beyond the utility that we provide with great-tasting food at a great price, there’s an emotional connection that so many of our customers have that they don’t just want to stop by and visit and have some food. They want to show their love of the Castle for the world to see. These (merchandising pieces) are just fun ways that we want to encourage that and make it easy.”
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
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