Undoubtedly, the fast-food industry is one of the most lucrative industries to own as a business owner. It is worth trillions of dollars and continuously expands with new brands popping up. Being a franchise owner in this industry is a common practice for entrepreneurs to have an easy entry into the industry.
White Castle is one of the oldest and most popular fast-food burger chains in the United States. They have a lot of restaurants all over the country, and if you saw them, you must have thought of becoming a franchise owner with them.
You are in the right place to learn more about the possibilities because we will discuss White Castle and its franchise opportunities.
About White Castle and White Castle History
White Castle was founded in 1921 by Walter Anderson and Billy Ingram as a fast-food chain to offer different, square, and small burgers.
Since its founding, it has grown quickly, and they are now operating in over 13 states with about 345 stores. They are an influential brand in the burger space, and their name is quite popular in the industry.
They are one of the first companies to have a supply chain management with standardized operations en masse. Even though they are big and quite popular, they are not very keen on opening new stores continuously as they want to maintain the quality everywhere and control their expansion.
That’s why they are currently not offering franchising, and they have no plans to do so. Their plan is to grow organically with their own money and control the management of the stores.
Franchise Model Table
| Cost or Fees | Amount |
|---|---|
| Franchise | NO |
| Franchise-Fee | NO |
| Estimated Outlets | 345 |
How Much Does it Cost to Open a White Castle Franchise?
White Castle is not a franchise, and that’s why there is no cost related to opening a White Castle franchise. They fund all of their stores’ opening and operations, and they don’t have anyone from the outside to do it.
If the company franchises in the future, they will release guidelines and cost estimations about what the franchisees can expect.
Why Doesn’t White Castle Offer Franchising?
The company has made it very clear that they are not looking to franchise either for now or for the future. It is thought that the main reason behind this decision is to have close control of all their locations.
By keeping the locations closed to outside ownership, they can control the quality better and have 100% ownership in the revenue and management.
Profit & Revenue Of White Castle
White Castle is a privately owned company. They don’t have public stock trading on the market, and they are not obligated to share financial information.
That’s why there is no recent number for how much profit or revenue they make. The latest information is from 2019, and they had a total revenue of $720.6 million in that year.
What Are Some Alternatives Of White Castle?
White Castle is not a franchise, but if you still want to be a part of the industry, you can look for alternatives. Here are some of them that are operating with similar structures in the same industry.
Krystal Restaurants
Krystal Restaurants is a similar company to White Castle, offering square sliders on their menu along with other fast-food products. They are the second oldest fast-food restaurant chain in the United States, with over 450 restaurants nationwide.
Most of these restaurants are franchise-owned, and they currently offer opportunities for new franchisees to become a part of their network.
The franchise fee to own a Krystal Restaurant is $32,500, which is paid at the beginning in a lump sum. You need between $900,000 to $1.3 million in total to open a Krystal, everything included. Then, you pay a 4.5% annual royalty fee to the brand.
Hardee’s
Another famous and massive fast-food restaurant famous for its Black Angus burger sandwiches is Hardee’s.
Hardee’s has over 1,700 locations in the US and over 3,200 locations worldwide. The company was founded in 1960 and started to franchise in 1961, and they have been franchising ever since.
This shows that they have over six decades of franchising experience, which makes them a good one for beginner entrepreneurs.
For starters, the franchise fee varies between $10,000 and $25,000. The total expected cost is between $1.3 million and $3.4 million. It could vary greatly depending on the country or the state of the store.
Checkers & Rally’s
They were initially two separate companies, but they merged in 1999 and formed Checkers & Rally’s, and they’ve been in operation since then under the same name.
The restaurant is famous for its double drive-thru concept, and both restaurants offer the same menus with over 800 combined locations in the United States.
The franchise fee to get started with this brand is $20,000-$30,000 per location. To build the restaurant, the expected initial investment is between $790,797 and $2.3 million based on the location and size of the restaurant. The royalty fee is 4% of the net sales.
White Castle Comparison
| Name | Franchise Fee | Royalty Fee | Initial Investment |
|---|---|---|---|
| A&W Restaurants | $20,000-$30,000 | 5% | $278,285-$1.5 million |
| Culver’s | $55,000 | 4% | $2.5 million-$7.2 million |
| White Castle | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Conclusion
White Castle is a big fast-food restaurant with a lot of opportunities to make good money. However, they are not a franchise, and they don’t seem to plan on franchising anytime soon, so it’s not possible to take advantage of their brand.
However, you can go for alternative brands that are operating under the same brand and are currently franchising, like Culver’s or Krystal Restaurants. You can also choose to wait until White Castle starts franchising, but that is not sure when or if it will happen.
FAQs
How much is the White Castle franchise fee?
There is no franchise fee because White Castle doesn’t offer franchises.
Is White Castle a franchise?
No, White Castle is not a franchise.
How to be a White Castle franchisee?
Right now, you can’t, but if they open franchising in the future, you can apply with them.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Castle_(restaurant)