White Castle(R) Inducts New Cravers to Hall of Fame

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle will induct the Class of 2008 into its Cravers Hall of Fame with a festive celebration. The ceremony will be held at the company's home office located 555 West Goodale Street, Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m. White Castle is extending an invitation for all media to attend this celebratory event.

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The Cravers Hall of Fame (CHOF) was established in 2001 to honor the loyal lovers of the square, steam-grilled hamburgers who share their stories about their devotion to the original Slider(TM). Since that first year, White Castle has received over 5,500 entries from every U.S. state. Currently, 97 Cravers have made the grade and been inducted into the hall of fame. All winning stories can be viewed at www.whitecastle.com.

Contest rules require that "the submitted story is accurate and truthful, and reflects your honest opinions, findings, beliefs, and experiences." Additional criteria include originality, creative presentation, appropriate use of the product, and overall demonstration of the 'Crave'.

The following are summaries of the inductees and their winning entries:

Leslye Louis, New Melle, MO - Leslye's enthusiasm for White Castle has helped her earn the surname Queen of the Castle. Leslye is being honored for her second prestigious Craver title, and all within a two-year span. Not only is Leslye a 2008 Cravers Hall of Fame winner, but she also won the 2007 Crave Time Cook Off recipe contest for delicious Latkes. Leslye exemplifies extreme passion for the brand and her story talks about many memories involving White Castle.

Jack Rowley, Marysville, MI - With Jack being a devoted fan of White Castle, his wife Betty knew exactly how to make his 50th birthday special ... she threw a surprise party with all of their friends and family at the nearest White Castle restaurant! Needless to say Jack was surprised and now considers his 50th his best birthday ever.

Kent Morgan, Chandler, AZ - While living in Phoenix, Kent discovered the original Slider(TM) accidentally by attending a local festival which transported the burgers from St. Louis to Phoenix every year. A few years later, Slyders(R) were no longer brought into the festival and Kent was left unable to fulfill his fix. Later, Kent landed a job with a local airline and began using his complimentary flights to Chicago just so he could pick up a Crave Case(TM) (or two) and take back home to Phoenix. That is over 2,800 miles!

Jim Haracz, Minneapolis, MN - Jim is the owner of Jimmy's Bar (located in Minneapolis) and since 1985 he has featured a free White Castle Sunday brunch which offers the famous Slyders(R). Over the past 23 years, Jim has served more than 120,000 Slyders(R) to the bar's patrons. Talk about sharing the Crave!

Chad Hall, Jeff Wenzel and Mike Flynn, Sicklerville, NJ - It all started with an out-of-town birthday party and a late night visit to the nearest Castle. During their late night visit, these three guys came up with a plan to eat at every White Castle restaurant in the state of New Jersey, all within one day. On March 1, 2008 Chad, Jeff and Mike did just that. They visited all 26 locations within 18 hours and 41 minutes, traveling a total of 416 miles.

Sam Eggleston, Marquette, MI - Sam describes how his life was almost ruined when he moved nearly seven hours away from a White Castle restaurant. He came up with a plan to persuade and even bribe his uncle into purchasing a Crave Case(TM) full of Slyders(R), drive almost four hours to a halfway point where Sam paid an unknown amount for the tasty little morsels. Sam says it was worth his four-hour drive and is now trying to find another family member who he can manipulate.

Steve Thomas, Grand Rapids, MI - When Steve moved from Michigan to Alaska, he learned his favorite burger chain was not located in Alaska and this is when the longing for the little burgers began. Steve missed White Castle so much that he literally dreamt of them as one day when he underwent dental surgery he awoke to his dentist and staff laughing at him. Steve learned he was asking for White Castles during his surgery and later had to explain to his fellow Alaskans what a Slyder(R) was all about. Is he what you would call a subliminal ambassador?

Wally Palmer, Siloam Springs, AR - Every July for seventeen years, Wally along with a group of his fellow alumni high school students (who call themselves the Polar Bear Alumni Association) get together and host a reunion event and at the event they bring 1,000 to 1,200 Slyders(R) for their old classmates to enjoy. Over the years the group has consumed about a total of 20,000 burgers. Wally and his wife now live in Arkansas where there are no White Castle restaurants and consider the annual reunion the highlight of their year ... because of the Slyders(R) of course.

Martin Nemes, Louisville, KY - The Crave started young for Martin; he had his first Slyder(R) at five years old and ever since he has made sure his family members experience the same goodness. Martin has taken Slyders(R) to family functions all the way from Louisville to Texas. He has taken them to visit with his sister in San Diego and he even made sure to take six-dozen of the burgers to Germany for his grandchild's birth. It is clearly evident that Martin has made White Castle a family affair!

White Castle owns and operates 415 restaurants in the Midwest and Northeast and is considered to be the first fast food hamburger restaurant. The company was established in Wichita, Kansas in 1921.