How White Castle Will Adjust to a $15 Minimum Wage in New York

National Review ^ | 04/11/2016 | by MARK ANTONIO WRIGHT

[PapaBear3625]

My supermarket sells frozen, microwavable White Castle burgers. They are actually very good.

When a kid I know started working at a fast-food place as an after-school job, she was a Bernie supporter. Seeing the taxes taken out of her paychecks, she is becoming a Trump supporter.

[PJammers]

If I were a young man, I wouldn’t waste my time with college, I would be looking to get certified as an electronic technician. Automation is the future. There will be a demand for people who keep the lines running.

Except of course everyone, no matter how skilled, will make $15 an hour. On second thought why waste money on education.

[henkster]

The greatest White Castle experience is now a thing of the past: it was at the White Castle located at the three way intersection of 16th Street, Georgetown Road and Lafayette Road in Speedway, Indiana. Right outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I went there once at 3:00 a.m. the night before (or early morning of) the 1980 Indianapolis 500.

It made the Star Wars bar scene look like a kindergarten.

Sadly, that White Castle no longer exists.

[Steve_Seattle]

I think my local McDonald’s has cut down on their counter employees (there’s often only one, a Mexican male with purple hair and lipstick), and that really slows down the service. I’ve actually walked out a couple of times because the line was so long and most of the customers seemed to be idiots who didn’t know what they wanted and took forever to order. When fast food ceases to be fast, it loses one of its selling points.

[Larry Lucido]

I do get White Castle cravings from time to time, but it’s interesting to note that when a WC double cheeseburger costs almost as much as McDonald’s 2 for $2.00 McDoubles, and I only have $2.00 (and there are those days), I gotta go with McD’s. Not sure WC has much room to expand on its prices.

[PJammers]

They have Krystal burgers in the south. Kind of the same thing. A small beef patty, cooked either onions and put in a small dinner roll.

Kind of tastes like a Steak-um.

[Gaffer]

When I was 16 ('66), I moved from a $1.00/hr job at McDonalds to a $1.40/hr job at Krystal during the midnight shift. It was near Emory University and those med and law students smoked a lot of dope all hours of the night and I worked like a dog doing all the cleanup and mopping sh!t work for an old maid lady that only made the hundreds of Krysals these privileged elites needed for late night cramming or toking. 10 cents apiece these bites of manna were.

I can't imagine what the cost of this steamed faux burger sh!t would be for a $15/hr employee force.

[boycott]

No one is forced to work at White Castle. It is of the employees choosing. If they don’t like what White Castle pays, they can go somewhere else.

[Red Badger]

If labor costs rise dramatically, White Castle will have to balance its books by raising prices or changing its business model so that it needs less labor.

Robots won't spit on your burgers................

[henkster]

Eating at White Castle is like having an X-ray. It’s OK to have one, but you shouldn’t do it too often. There are health risks attendant with excessive exposure.

In fact, the girls at the cash register at White Castle should be required to ask “When was the last time you ate at White Castle?”

[miss marmelstein]

How does it not exist? It’s in my neighborhood near my apt. in NYC and it’s in my neighborhood at my home in NJ. And it still attracts drunk young men on Saturday night. I had to recently restrain a friend of mine who after dinner and a movie, demanded we all go off to White Castle to over-indulge.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

That pretty much says it all.

I have a White Castle nearby and visit when I get the crave. I have noticed that it is no longer the cheap place to eat that it used to be. I can go to a diner, get better food and more of it, for less than what I would spend at White Castle. Plus, I get served by a waitress, who gets a tip for her efforts, and eat off of real plates.

White Castle and others like it will not survive without drastic changes. Another success story for the ruinous forces of the left.

[Red Badger]

I worked for Krystal in my teens, circa 1971-1973.......$1.65 an hour!................

[T-Bird45]

Cool story, bro! The only WC I’ve ever visited was sort of near that location at an exit of I-70, west of Indy, near the speedway.

[cincinnati65]

With a Krystal, at least you get to keep the five holes worth of “meat”, nor do they pretend that that’s doing you some kind of favor.

[DuncanWaring]

“We think we’d need to increase menu prices by something like 50 percent.

If 30% of your expense structure increases in cost by two thirds, your overall expense increases by 20%, not 50%.

[Scrambler Bob]

Black Castle?

Castles have dungeons. For Blacks, you know.

[DBrow]

Become a programmer, write the code for the burger-maker machine, and also get your electrician’s certification so you can install and troubleshoot them.

[tang-soo]

White Castle is a family owned, very conservative operation. When they open a new site, they buy the land, build the unit, then put a years worth of operating costs in the bank - all from cash from the business, without borrowing a cent.

My dad worked for White Castle as a tool and die maker in their workshop behind the corporate business office on Goodale Street in Columbus, Ohio. He was there for about 20 years during the 60s and 70s. He actually built the prototype for the machine that makes the 5 holes in the burgers, which are used to decrease the cooking time and enhance the flavor from the onions. Until the last few years, the buildings were made from porcelain and the shop pre-fabricated the entire building in the shop my dad worked in - including the stainless steel counters, tables, trim ... etc.

Just had a few the other night, and when I do, I think of my dad working there and the good friends he made while working for Billy Ingram. By the way, it was also a non-union shop as the management always treated their employees well.

[austingirl]

I miss the aluminum room. Grew up in Chicago where WC was very popular- we can buy the frozen variety in Texas. I add mustard that is not quite as good as I remember and pickles.

$30K a year for entry level fast food flipping? My first job paid 75 cents an hour.