Sliding into town
White Castle expands wildly popular San Antonio pop-up restaurant
San Antonians hoping to spend Valentine's Day at White Castle have another opportunity to make that dream come true.
On January 21, the Columbus, Ohio-based chain — best known for its square-patty and square-bun Sliders — said it’s adding a third night, February 16, to a special Valentine’s Day pop-up restaurant in San Antonio.
Why the extra night? People snapped up all of the reservations for the initial two nights on February 14 and 15 less than 24 hours after the Valentine’s Day pop-up was first announced. That’s especially noteworthy given that White Castle operates no restaurants in San Antonio or anywhere else in Texas, and that burger chain Whataburger is based right here in the Alamo City.
“San Antonio’s reaction to our pop-up exceeded our expectations,” Tiffany Carreker, general manager and vice president of White Castle’s retail division, says in a release. “We’re so excited that we’ll be able to expand the event another day, giving more of our retail customers an opportunity to experience our one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day celebration.”
All three nights of the White Castle pop-up will be held at the H-E-B store at 12125 Alamo Ranch Pkwy. on San Antonio’s Far West Side. All reservations for the February 16 gathering are available on a first-come, first-served based through OpenTable.
Aside from White Castle food, the San Antonio event will feature live music and a photo booth. White Castle will donate $10 per diner to a local charity.
For the past 28 years, White Castle has invited couples, families, and friends to celebrate Valentine’s Day at one of its restaurants, which are transformed into “festively decorated” eateries complete with hostess eating and tableside service.
This year, White Castle predicts more than 30,000 people will take part in the Valentine’s dinner at participating restaurants in 13 states.
White Castle teamed up with San Antonio-based H-E-B for the pop-up because the grocery chain sells frozen White Castle products. From January 22 to February 18, H-E-B will hand out in-store coupons for an assortment of White Castle Sliders.
