Find out when you can get White Castle Sliders for the 2012 price
The burger chain is selling six Original Sliders for $4. The "6 for $4" deal brings the price per Slider to 67 cents, the same price as the burgers cost in 2012.
A single Original Slider costs about 98 cents in Indianapolis.
The limited-time offer is available in all restaurant markets except Florida.
The discounted price is meant to help customers cope with the overall rising costs of living, according to the company.
'As economic pressures continue to weigh on families nationwide, White Castle is standing by its commitment to serve hot, tasty food that everyone can afford,' the company said.
Other White Castle offers include the return of the 12-piece Chicken Rings for $3.99.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Yahoo
Once-Beloved Restaurant Chains That Are No Longer America's Favorite
Chain restaurants are, in many ways, the backbone of American food culture. There are hundreds upon hundreds of chains in the United States, with all of them offering up a familiar atmosphere to their customers, regardless of where they may be in the country. Chain restaurants took off in earnest with the opening of White Castle in 1921, and since then, countless businesses have come and gone. While many of these chains never quite took off, others made it seriously big, before retreating into the shadows of culture or losing their shine somehow. Some of these chains might surprise you, too. We're not talking about long-lost restaurant chains you don't remember: We're talking about ones that are still around, but have just lost their appeal and have seen their customer and unit numbers slip. Chains like TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday's, IHOP, and Hardee's are still found everywhere, but just don't have the same spark that they once did. Others, like Howard Johnson's, now exist in different forms but live long in the memory of the folks who ate there. Let's take a look at all of those restaurant chains that we've fallen out of love with. Read more: 10 Steakhouse Chains That Are Going To Take Over The US Outback Steakhouse There was a time when, if you wanted a steak, Outback Steakhouse was the place to be. This Australian-themed restaurant, and its beef-heavy menu (and, of course, its Bloomin' Onion) used to resonate deeply with American customers. The success of its business model and offering propelled it to a mammoth size, not only in the U.S. but worldwide. There are currently more than 600 Outback Steakhouse restaurants in operation in the U.S. and almost 350 more across the world. However, while these numbers might make it sound like Outback Steakhouse is thriving, its appeal is dying for customers, with people increasingly going elsewhere for their steaks. In 2024, competitors Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn bested Outback Steakhouse in sales, with the stocks of both former companies spiking. By contrast, Outback Steakhouse's parent company, Bloomin' Brands, saw its stock tumble by more than 70%. The issue, as is so often the case, comes down to price. Outback Steakhouse's meals are simply too expensive for most customers these days, and there have also been complaints about its food quality, with some Outback dishes that you really should never order. When you pair that with a generally depressing atmosphere in Outback Steakhouse dining rooms, it's no wonder that people have fallen out of love with the restaurant. TGI Fridays Few chains feel as all-American as TGI Fridays. This restaurant has been serving customers its easygoing grub since 1965, with millions of customers eating and drinking in its white and red dining rooms. However, these days, there's something that feels a little old-fashioned about heading to TGI Fridays. In a competitive marketplace where people increasingly want innovative options from around the world, the burgers, fries, and chicken of TGI Fridays seem a little bit outdated. This is reflected in the recent fortunes and recent closures of the chain, which could spell disaster. TGI Fridays has been shutting doors left, right, and center, following its parent company filing for bankruptcy in late 2024. It put the bankruptcy down to challenges it faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's pretty clear that it had been struggling for years before this. In 2008, the restaurant had about 600 locations across the United States, but there were less than half as many by the start of 2024. As of April 2025, TGI Fridays had just 85 restaurants in the country, and we wouldn't be surprised if more of them were to shut by the end of the year. Boston Market The story of Boston Market is a sad one. This chicken chain was founded in 1985, and by the mid-1990s, it was hitting the big time. Its restaurant numbers ballooned to over 1,000, with people seemingly unable to get enough of its premade meals, as well as its healthier slant on fast food (which, in a landscape dominated by McDonald's and Burger King, was a big deal). However, at the same time, it started to struggle financially. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1998 and then changed hands several times, with its sale to Sun Capital Partners seeing a mass closure of its stores. The aughts and 2010s saw ownership try and breathe new life into the brand, but none of these plans worked. Boston Market branches continued to close, and although it tried to modernize its image by putting chicken sandwiches and sliders on its menu, it just wasn't enough. Nowadays, Boston Market is a shadow of its former self. At the end of 2024, it was down to just 16 locations in a handful of states. Pretty sad state of affairs, huh? Howard Johnson's Oh, Howard Johnson's. You had a great run. A lot of folks might not remember it, but once upon a time, Howard Johnson's was the biggest restaurant in America — and was, in a lot of ways, the first big restaurant in America. Howard Johnson's began life as an ice cream store in 1925, with the titular owner making his business' name by offering virtually every flavor under the sun. He soon expanded beyond mere ice cream, though, and Howard Johnson's became a hulking beast of a restaurant chain, opening its first sit-down outfit in 1929 and rapidly spreading to every part of the country. By 1975, there were almost 650 company-owned restaurants and hundreds more franchised restaurants in operation. A big part of why Howard Johnson's was able to expand so quickly was by tapping into the motor car's newfound popularity: Many of its restaurants were built roadside as stop-off points for hungry drivers. This also allowed it to corner the market on motor lodges and roadside hotels, which combined dining and sleeping. It was this last move that allowed the brand to morph into its final form: A hotel chain. Over time, the restaurant couldn't quite keep up with modern tastes, and while its hotels still thrive with hundreds of locations, the food side of things has shriveled up. Ruby Tuesday At the start of the 21st century, Ruby Tuesday was doing pretty well — which is interesting for a restaurant chain that now feels super old-fashioned. Ruby Tuesday was founded in 1972, and was created in the image of TGI Fridays, as a restaurant that served youth-focused food that had the name of a day of the week in it. It built itself up to 16 locations when it was then sold to Morrison's Cafeterias, and the move prompted massive growth for the brand. By around 2010, Ruby Tuesday operated approximately 840 restaurants. Unfortunately, though, things started to take a turn for the worse, and despite being such a cheap place to eat, people just didn't gel with Ruby Tuesday's output anymore. Then came the pandemic, which was hard on the restaurant, which couldn't pick itself back up enough. Many of its units remained closed after shutting due to COVID-19 restrictions, and they continued to close after things started to settle. By 2025, Ruby Tuesday's around the country were still gradually disappearing, and entire regions were left without the restaurant's presence. Denny's It seems strange to say that Denny's is struggling to stay in business. After all, it's still everywhere, and its status as one of the biggest diner chains in the United States is pretty well established. However, people definitely don't love it as much as they once did. Denny's now feels like it's firmly stuck in the 20th century, and its core offerings of pancakes, breakfasts, and hamburgers just don't chime with customers in today's day and age like they once did. This can be seen in the gentle but definite dwindling of its store numbers. While Denny's still has well over 1,300 restaurants in the United States, it shuttered 88 locations in 2024, with plans to continue closing its units throughout 2025. Denny's management, of course, states that these restaurants are underperforming and that it's focusing on driving new traffic and footfall. However, it's never a good sign when dozens, if not hundreds, of restaurants shut their doors. Denny's has made significant efforts to rebrand and modernize its menu and its image, but it hasn't quite stuck the landing. Red Robin Red Robin has been trying its best to continue to appeal to customers, but it's sadly just not working. In 2024, it reported a decrease in its revenue and a much higher loss than the previous year. It paired this announcement with the news that it was considering shutting around 70 restaurants that had been underperforming. That's pretty disappointing for the brand, especially considering that it spent a significant amount of time after the pandemic trying to revamp its appeal and image. Red Robin went hard on its promotions and value offers, promising customers free refills on fries and lower-priced burgers. These moves were received warmly by the people dining at the restaurant, and in 2024, its customer satisfaction rating saw a significant increase. The problem was that this didn't translate into higher traffic, and it actually saw fewer people walking through its doors. Sadly, it just seems as though people aren't that interested in engaging with the restaurant, no matter how hard it tries to win customers back. Hardee's There's no denying how big Hardee's is. It has over 1,800 restaurants in the U.S., and when you account for the unit numbers for its sister brand Carl's Jr., you're looking at nearly 4,000 stores across the country. You might wonder how this restaurant could be falling out of favor, but it definitely is. Hardee's is struggling in a big way, and its downfall clearly indicates that people are tired of the restaurant chain. For years, Hardee's has been battling with an outdated image, which seems to be rooted firmly in the 1990s. It's also been accused of shrinkflation by its own customers, who clearly aren't happy about how the restaurant is treating them. These front-facing symptoms, though, reveal some larger struggles with the burger chain's operations and potential cash flow. Throughout 2023 and 2024, Hardee's closed a string of restaurants, and more recently, it's been embroiled in a battle with one of its major franchisees. Paradigm Investment Group filed a lawsuit against Hardee's after a host of disagreements between the company and the brand, with the former seeing the latter as unnecessarily imposing on it. If the people who run the stores themselves are unhappy, how are the customers meant to feel? Kenny Rogers Roasters Kenny Rogers Roasters is a curious establishment. The singer-songwriter it's named after is, of course, way better known for his hits like "Islands in the Stream," but in the 1990s, he turned his hand to chain restaurant ownership. Kenny Rogers Roasters was founded in 1991, and its thing was chicken: Instead of dishing out hunks of deep-fried poultry, it focused on serving roasted chicken with comforting sides like baked potatoes and pasta. Perhaps people were a bit bored with all of the deep-fried fare available in every other chain restaurant, and Kenny Rogers Roasters took off quickly, reaching 350 restaurants around the world in a quick amount of time. However, as quickly as it started in the U.S., it was pretty much over. Kenny Rogers Roasters filed for bankruptcy in 1998 and was subsequently sold to Nathan's Famous Inc., with Rogers growing unhappy with the chain's association with his name. Customers, meanwhile, grew bored of the roasted chicken it was serving, and started to go elsewhere. Pretty soon, Kenny Rogers Roasters was a thing of the past in America. In Asia, however, the restaurant is still going strong, with hundreds of branches dotted across many different countries. Hooters It's probably no great shock that the heyday of Hooters is now long past. The sports bar and chain "brestaurant" is one of the quintessential images of American culture of the 1980s and 90s. At its peak, there were roughly 430 Hooters restaurants across the country, with millions of people being drawn to the bar by its central gimmick (the waitstaff and their uniforms) and the promise of good food, good beer, and good times. It may not have been the classiest place to dine, but it was somewhere that everyone knew, and that many people loved. However, that all started to change as the 20th century pressed on. Hooters was never exactly unproblematic to begin with, but the last few years truly brought into focus how regressive its business model really was. Hooters tried to soften its image and even opened an offshoot called Hoots, in which its mixed-gender waitstaff wear way more modest attire, but it's a case of too little, too late. Hooters recently had to close dozens of its underperforming branches, with customers flocking away from it in droves. Some call it a necessary change, while others call it the slow death of an American icon. Applebee's Poor Applebee's. On the face of it, there's nothing inherently wrong with the chain restaurant, which has been around since 1980. It still remains the largest casual dining brand in the world, it has restaurants pretty much everywhere, and it continues to serve millions of customers every year. However, things used to be a lot rosier for the restaurant. Applebee's, like so many other chain restaurants, feels like a relic of a bygone age where people were satisfied with offerings like mozzarella sticks, steaks, and fries. Now, don't get us wrong, there's nothing wrong with that — but folks want a bit more diversity these days, when it comes to their menus. As a result, it's no wonder that Applebee's is struggling. Throughout 2024 and 2025, it's seen its sales dwindle as customers look elsewhere for their meals. This is despite Applebee's trying to create added value for its diners and offers to entice them through the door, which have unfortunately been lost in the bustling restaurant market. Applebee's management is confident that it can win these customers back, but perhaps the ship has sailed for the chain. MOD Pizza Unlike many chain restaurants that have fallen out of fashion after being around for decades, MOD Pizza's history is a lot more recent. The chain began life in 2008, with founders Scott and Ally Svenson placing their flag in the sand with their brand's apparently unique offering. The selling point of MOD Pizza was that it would offer choice to diners. The chain went big on the customization of its pizzas and the fact that they were made right in front of the customer, creating a more personal and unique experience than the type they'd get in other pizza chains. However, the problem is, there are a lot of pizza chains out there, and pretty much all of them offer you the option to customize your pie. Unfortunately, whatever MOD Pizza was doing just didn't feel innovative enough, and while it had a flurry of success, things have started to look a little tougher for the chain. In early 2024, it announced that it was closing more than two dozen restaurants, and by the middle of the year it was made public that it was exploring bankruptcy as a potential option. It managed to keep this move at bay, but it's not a stretch to say that people have fallen out of love with the chain, and it's got the struggles to show for it. IHOP If you wanted pancakes, IHOP used to be the place to be. However, in recent years, it's been struggling to hold onto its customer base. The International House of Pancakes has seen a decline in its fortunes amidst threats from competitors like First Watch, which seek to give diners just a bit more freshness and class. Unfortunately for IHOP, it's working, and its sales figures prove it. In 2024, IHOP saw a decrease in sales, both in its fourth quarter and overall. IHOP and its sister brand Applebee's also closed more restaurants than they opened, which is never a good sign for the fortunes of its parent company (which, of course, ultimately manages operations and brand direction). While financial results like this can sometimes be invigorating, in IHOP's case, it resulted in some pretty bleak news for employees. Dine Brands, the company that owns IHOP, announced in February 2025 that it was laying off 9% of its workforce. The company blamed market conditions, but it also acknowledged that virtually every other chain restaurant in the country was offering promotions for its customers — and clearly those customers were drifting towards them instead of IHOP. BurgerFi BurgerFi may be destined to be one of those chain restaurants that's finished before it even started. This burger chain is one of the youngest out there, having been founded in 2011. Instead of opting for fast-food-style burgers with identical patties and buns, BurgerFi aimed for a more gourmet approach, with fresh ingredients and unique toppings. On a flavor level this really works, and if you're looking for which is the better burger between BurgerFi and places like Shake Shack, then the former is the way to go. The problem is that customers just don't seem to be seeing it that way. The brand has faced a string of issues in recent years and a host of underperforming restaurants, resulting in the closure of nine locations. Then, in late 2024, BurgerFi was sold in a bankruptcy auction. The auction followed an enormous cashflow issue for the chain restaurant, with the company almost going into the red. Sadly, this seems to be a sign of the times: Although people may like fresh ingredients and artisanal burgers, they can't always afford them when the cost of living is so high. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal. Solve the daily Crossword
Fast Company
28-07-2025
- Fast Company
Hungry Chicagoans can now get White Castle delivered by a robot
The next time you order a sack of White Castle sliders, a robot might come rolling up to you. The restaurant chain, a Midwestern fast-food staple, is partnering with Coco Robotics and Uber Eats to bring robotic delivery to the Chicago area. The partnership, announced today, will allow customers ordering from White Castle's first participating location to order directly from the Uber Eats app and receive a robotic delivery with no additional steps or fees. And in a dense urban area like Chicago, having more robots and fewer cars on the road could help ease traffic and emissions issues related to delivery. 'We're always open to what's new and what's next,' Jamie Richardson, White Castle's vice president of marketing, tells Fast Company. 'If there's a way to do something a little bit better, we want to find out what that is and try it.' A fast food innovator looks ahead For White Castle, which innovated the concept of a fast-food restaurant in 1921, this is the next step in a shift toward an autonomous experience. The chain first deployed Flippy, the robotic fry cook, to a Chicago restaurant in 2020 before expanding its use to over 100 locations. The restaurant chain considers these shifts toward new technology a reflection of its core value of 'continuous crave,' or continuous innovation, Richardson says. The robots used in the new partnership were developed by Coco Robotics, a last-mile delivery startup that was named one of Fast Company 's most innovative robotics companies in 2022. More recently, it announced significant venture capital funding and partnerships with large companies like OpenAI, Uber Eats, and DoorDash. Part of the force propelling Coco's little red robots is their capacity for moving large amounts of goods while keeping costs low and carbon emissions at zero. They accomplish it with a 100-pound vehicle that uses artificial intelligence —and remote human operators—to drive safely over unpredictable city terrain. 'We built these purpose-built autonomous vehicles that are designed to be the best way to move goods around a city,' Zach Rash, Coco Robotics cofounder and CEO, tells Fast Company. 'They're lightweight, they're compact, they're super energy efficient, and they're big enough to fit six extra large pizzas and two liter bottle sodas and four grocery bags—most of the types of things you would get delivered on demand.' Bots and the city First launched in Santa Monica, California, the robots are now in several cities around the world, as far afield as Helsinki. The robots work best where there is a 'vibrant local economy of delivery,' Rash says, but where congestion or other barriers add cost and hassle to traditional delivery. advertisement Chicago, in particular, fits the bill because it is a dense city where difficult winters can drive disparity between demand for delivery and supply of available drivers, Rash says, adding that they've been successful in the Chicago market so far and are looking forward to launching the robots in new cities with similar characteristics later this year. For Uber Eats, also looking to expand its autonomous services and its reach in the Midwest market, the new partnership with White Castle offers an important opportunity. Fast Company. The robots, which started picking up burgers in Chicago a couple weeks ahead of the partnership's official launch, are already finding success in what Richardson considers White Castle's 'second home town.'
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Yahoo
Major Burger Chain Announces a Change People Will Love
Summer is the perfect time to get outside an enjoy a fantastic burger, even though any season, really, is good for burgers. The summer season also brings late nights, because the sun is out so late, so the partying and fun tend to go into the early hours of the morning. When that burger craving hits late, there are usually limited options about what to do about it. Some grocery stores are open late, but who wants to grill a burger at midnight? Now, one major burger chain has announced a change that starts now, and it should help those who are hungry late at night. White Castle has been around for more than a century at this point. "In 1921, Billy Ingram launched a family-owned business with $700 and an idea, selling five-cent, small, square hamburgers so easy to eat, they were dubbed Sliders and sold by the sack," the company states on their website. Now, White Castle has announced expanded hours and special late-night deals to those in its loyalty program. Starting on the Summer Solstice, which was June 20 and marked the end of spring, the chain in offering new hours, branded merchandise and discounts with its Craver Nation Rewards loyalty program. According to White Castle, 91 percent of its restaurants will now be open until 1 a.m. or later, and 72 percent are open 24 hours a day. That's the most late-night hours White Castle has offered since 2020. Also, for the themed merchandise, visit White Castle's House of Crave site. "White Castle has always been there for our Cravers when it matters most — even when the clock strikes midnight and beyond," Jamie Richardson, vice president of White Castle, said in a statement. "Night Castle isn't just a moment in time — it's a state of mind. Whether it's summer nights, weekend outings or just a craving that won't quit, we're proud to be the place people turn to for craveable flavor, great value and unforgettable memories."Major Burger Chain Announces a Change People Will Love first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 22, 2025
