White Castle Inducts 14 New Members Into Cravers Hall of Fame
White Castle has been selling sliders since 1921. It's widely credited as America's first fast-food hamburger chain. It was also the first to sell a billion burgers (in 1961, years before McDonald's), and Time magazine named its slider the "Most Influential Burger of All Time" in 2014. It also has a Hall of Fame - and getting in is not easy.
Since 2001, White Castle's Cravers Hall of Fame has recognized the chain's most devoted fans through an annual induction ceremony. The brand says it receives hundreds of submissions every year, but only about 300 people have ever been inducted. According to White Castle, "It's tougher to get into the Cravers Hall of Fame than it is to get into Harvard."
So what does it actually take? Fans can apply year-round through White Castle's website or by mail. Each applicant submits a written story about their personal connection to the brand, and entries are reviewed by a panel of judges that includes White Castle team members, partners, and members of the family that still owns the company. According to the official contest rules, entries are scored equally across four categories: loyalty to the brand, creative presentation, originality, and what White Castle calls the "magnitude of your Crave."
Describe White Castle in one word. pic.twitter.com/b1jEoyn1Sg
— Food Crush (@CozycupC6149) April 12, 2026
Earlier this week, People reported that 14 new superfans have been selected for the program's 25th class. The formal induction ceremony is set for Wednesday, April 29, at the company's home office in Columbus. The new members will join a roster that already includes some familiar names: rock legend Alice Cooper, Marvel creator Stan Lee, fashion designer Telfar Clemens, Man v. Food host Adam Richman, and the cast of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, including John Cho and Kal Penn.
The people getting inducted this year didn't take the assignment lightly.
One inductee, Bill Hillegonds of Cedar Lake, Indiana, has eaten at more than 100 White Castles across the country. According to the Chicago Tribune, he once agreed to chaperone a youth group trip to an Ed Sheeran concert - but only after the students showed him a map of every White Castle near the venue. He ended up hitting six locations that night.
The class also includes a mother and daughter who made White Castle their annual Valentine's Day tradition, two friends who turned their obsession with the chain into a bestselling book, and Elisa Hoffman of Marshall, Texas, who threw her son a birthday party inspired by the iconic Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle order: 50 Sliders, fries, and a drink.
Each inductee receives a two-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Columbus, complete with meals at White Castle, a headquarters tour, a ceremony in their honor, and a plaque.
Nominations for the 2026 class are already open.
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 12:35 PM.