News

White Castle gets in on April Fool's Day fun

The chain stated it will begin nationwide delivery of The Original Slider in Crave Cases (30 Sliders) via Crave Copters, unmanned aerial vehicles more popularly known as drones.

April 1, 2016

White Castle is getting in on the April Fool's Day fun. The chain stated it will begin nationwide delivery of The Original Slider in Crave Cases (30 Sliders) via Crave Copters, unmanned aerial vehicles more popularly known as drones, according to a company press release.

White Castle will begin nationwide service with a fleet of 1,500 Crave Copters positioned across the continental United States and at undisclosed grilling locations in the Western U.S. A tracking system will allow deployment to the geographic areas with the most demand.

The Crave Copters will fly no higher than 400 feet and will be able to deliver Crave Cases filled with Original Sliders using a mechanical claw specifically designed to carry weight up to 10 pounds. A team of former United States Air Force pilots will pilot the Crave Copters.

Delivery time will depend on the customer's proximity to the White Castle restaurant or to the designated grilling location. White Castle will charge a modest delivery fee, which will vary depending on anticipated Crave Copter airtime.

The drone delivery idea stemmed from a Thanksgiving promotion White Castle hosted in Cincinnati last fall as a tribute to the "WKRP in Cincinnati" television show and to celebrate the launch of new turkey menu items. The original Crave Copters were used to develop the program

"For 95 years White Castle has been a driving force of innovation in the restaurant industry from food safety, to employee benefits and menu development," said Jamie Richardson, White Castle vice president. "Our core mission has always been about delivering a high-quality meal at an affordable price and about creating memorable moments for our customers and their families. Drone delivery of Crave Cases is a continuation of both and allows us to expand our restaurant service area. The delivery idea literally fell from the sky when I was watching our Crave Copters drop Turkey Sliders as part of a contest. The idea is simple: If national online retailers can deliver a DVD copy of 'Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle' in 30 minutes, why can't we deliver you a case of Sliders to enjoy while watching your favorite movie? We started experimenting with this idea, and we are happy to be the first QSR to offer this service coast-to-coast."

White Castle plans to add more Crave Copters and more undisclosed grilling locations in the months to come.