White Castle will end its 54-year run in the Short North.
The Columbus-based fast-food chain will close the doors to its 965 N. High St. location after service on Saturday, December 24.
Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle, says it was a hard decision, but that location was never really able to recover from the pandemic. Richardson says they had difficulty building the team they needed to staff the restaurant, and that business hadn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.
After operating as a standalone restaurant for 48 years, White Castle closed its Short North location for two years before making a comeback in the same spot in 2018 as part of mixed-use development The Castle. White Castle co-owns the property with Borror.
Although they are co-owners, Richardson says they realized the best use from a business point of view was not to have a White Castle location there. He anticipates another business will move into the space, but it’s too early to say what it might be.
Short North’s loss is another White Castle location’s gain. Eight of the employees from Short North will transfer to the White Castle at Kenny and Henderson, allowing it to ramp back up to 24-hour operations.
As for if they’d ever make a comeback in a neighborhood where they have such a long history, Richardson says they’re open to whatever comes next.
For more information, visit whitecastle.com.
