Much-Anticipated White Castle East Valley Location Opens

It’s official! The second White Castle in the state of Arizona debuted with fanfare and a ribbon-cutting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

The Tempe White Castle, located at 8735 S. Jewel St. in Tempe, is the second Arizona location for the family-owned business. The first opened at 9310 E. Vía de Ventura in Scottsdale in the fall of 2019.

Cravers throughout the East Valley have eagerly anticipated this new location, which will employ up to 70 team members and managers. Many guests lined up at the door for the opening, some even arriving Monday night, to be among the first to savor the Tempe location’s menu, including the Original Slider®.

White Castle CEO Lisa Ingram, fourth-generation family member and great granddaughter of the company’s founder, handled the official ribbon cutting and spent the rest of the day working the grill.

“As a family owned business that has been around for 102 years, we are thrilled to open our newest Castle in Tempe,” said Ingram. “This state-of-the-art site helps us fulfill our vision ‘to feed the souls of craver generations everywhere.’“

The ribbon-cutting ceremony also featured remarks from Mayor of Tempe, Corey Woods, a long-time member of White Castle’s “Crave Nation” who shared his experiences with the brand during his childhood in New York. Tempe City Council members Arlene Chin, Doreen Garlid and Berdetta Hodge also were on hand for the opening.

A highlight of the ceremony was the introduction of Charles and Georgia Washington, who met at a White Castle 72 years ago, and Drew and Jamie Schmitt, who were married at the Scottsdale location earlier this year and are part of the White Castle Hall of Fame.

During the grand opening event, White Castle leaders announced the inaugural “Round Up” campaign and named the Tempe Police Foundation the partner of choice. The restaurant kicked off the fundraiser with a $5,000 donation to the foundation.

To ensure the best customer service possible during the excitement of the opening, the Tempe White Castle temporarily will limit its hours to 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily and will keep orders to a 60-slider maximum. Initially, there will be no online or delivery orders.