"White Castles" in Kansas City area...wha happened??

[VinceMagruder]

not even 15 years ago, there seemed to be White Castle restaurants everywhere in the Kansas City area.....now, "poof," they are all gone?

What happened?

Someone mentioned that (locally) there was some sort of business relationship between White Castle and some "Church's Fried Chicken" franchises, and they all went down the tubes together, for some reason....don't know if that is true or not...?

[KansasTravel]

If you happen to travel west on I-70, you can get your small burger fix at the Cozy Inn in Salina. http://www.kansastravel.org/cozyinn.htm White Castles started in WIchita in 1921 and the Cosy Inn opened in 1922.

I think the burgers in Salina are much better.

[jackrugby]

Same thing happened here in Dayton, Ohio, used to have 4 or 5, now there is only one. One of the stores that closed also sold Church's Chicken.

[mcsheridan]

AFAIK, White Castle's are not franchised. The corporation decided to close all the KC locations back in 2001 (and I heard they abandoned their town of origin, Wichita as well) and to focus more on their core markets. Possible Translation: they had too much competition in KC?

There were some locations operated in concert with Church's Fried Chicken, but I haven't a clue whether that factored into the decision or not.

[podunkboy]

Wichita hasn't had a White Castle since the 1940's I believe, long long time before I was even born. The only WC burgers we have are in the grocery store freezer section.

[mcsheridan]

and aren't those freezer sliders a pathetic attempt on WC's part? Ugh.

[mattyboy]

White Castle closed in K.C. because the food is awful and tasteless. Maybe it would be better off of an old grill that had developed character. In the meantime I just dont understand the popularity.

[TinKC]

I haven't seen a White Castle in KC in nearly 10 years. There are plenty of Church's Chicken locations around though. Not sure what happened...but I'm not complaining... was never a fan of white castle.

[inbiz]

Tragic, isn't it? They're all still in STL. I have no idea what gives here.