Plans have now been announced for the construction of a new White Castle restaurant in Arizona, set to go up in downtown Goodyear.
The project will mark the famous hamburger chain’s third outlet in the Grand Canyon State, having opened previous locations in Scottsdale in 2019 and Tempe last year.
The new Goodyear eatery at 1420 North Bullard Avenue will measure around 3,200 square feet and will be built to house a modern kitchen, dining space, covered patio, and a double drive-in.
Launched in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, the company for years has had a major presence in the Midwest as well as metro New York. In the last decade White Castle has expanded into Nevada as well as Florida.
The new Goodyear restaurant, with construction set to begin later this spring, marks White Castle’s largest presence in the West.
White Castle is revered for its small, square hamburgers, otherwise known as “sliders,” and is equally known for its chicken and fish sandwiches.
Typical White Castle restaurants measure around 3,000 to 3,500 square feet, although the company’s Orlando restaurant broke all records when it opened in 2022 with a 4,600-square-foot location.
The company’s architecture through the years has seen its facades designed to look like a Medieval castle, although more recent restaurants have often confined that motif to its signage, while also discarding the white cement block construction of the chain’s early days.
White Castle’s growing presence in Arizona may seem strange given that it has not invaded other big growth states in West such as California, Colorado, and Texas.
But a reporter for the Arizona Republic, covering the opening of the company’s store in Scottsdale, discerned a business strategy in the large number of transplants now living in Arizona who fondly remember eating White Castle sliders in the Midwest.
By Garry Boulard
