The White Castle Crave Mobile stopped at the Magic City Casino in Miami on Tuesday. The moment South Floridians have been waiting for has arrived. But, with other fast-food options out there, why is this burger so special?
“Have you had a White Castle?” Harry Blackledge says in response. “There’s imitators, but there’s really nothing like a fresh White Castle hamburger,” he says.
Blackledge runs the “Bring White Castle to Florida” Facebook page that was created by his daughter back in December of 2010. His love for these hamburger sliders is shared with over 4,200 followers on his page who feel the same way. “Well, it’s just something that all of us people up north grew up with. Most of us have grown up with White Castle. Our parents, you know, took us to White Castle as kids,” he says.
Blackledge says that in the 1960’s there were two White Castle restaurants in Miami. “Some of the older people that lived there in that time remember those restaurants. So now, White Castle bringing the truck back, brings back memories for them.”
The Facebook page has been noticed by White Castle officials.
“As a matter of fact, on Twitter I follow Lisa Ingram, and she is the CEO. And she knows of our page,” Blackledge says.
His advocacy for bringing White Castle to the Sunshine state has given him a little bit of hope. He knows that White Castle does not have franchises, which means they are very selective on where to open their restaurants. “They tell us every time that they are evaluating sites,” he says. The last time he wrote to the company was two months ago, and he received a different response: “We are now evaluating sites, we are seeing what our options are.” Blackledge adds that Ingram sent him a tweet. “The last thing Lisa Ingram mentioned to me was “Who knows? Your dreams may come true.”
The food truck will also stop on Nov. 20-22 at the Homestead Miami Speedway.
