White Castle was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 and is widely credited with creating the hamburger slider.
Walter Anderson and Billy Ingram established White Castle as an early hamburger restaurant designed around consistency, speed, and cleanliness. Its small square hamburgers were cooked with onions and sold as inexpensive, easy-to-eat portions.
The term “slider” became associated with these small burgers, although the exact history of the word is debated and later restaurants also used it. White Castle's design, including its castle-like architecture and standardized operations, influenced the development of American fast food.
White Castle is sometimes confused with Krystal, another chain known for small square burgers. Krystal began later in the American South, while White Castle originated in Wichita in 1921. The chain is also notable for surviving as a separate company rather than becoming part of a larger burger conglomerate.