White Tower Hamburgers
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin [1] |
| Founder(s) | John E. Saxe Thomas E. Saxe[1] |
| Headquarters | Dayton, Ohio[2][3], USA |
| Number of locations | 1 |
| Area served | Dayton, Ohio[3] |
| Industry | Fast Food Restaurant |
| Products | Hamburgers, soft drink |
White Tower Hamburgers was founded in 1926 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and with its similar white fortress-like structure, is considered an imitator of White Castle. The chain was successful and expanded to other cities, including: Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit, Michigan, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, New York City, Albany, New York and Boston, Massachusetts[4] and as far south as Richmond, Virginia. During the Great Depression, White Tower sold hamburgers for five cents.
The whiteness of the restaurant was meant among other things to evoke hygienic conditions;[4] the chain had staff dressed as nurses, dubbed the "Towerettes", to help make this argument.
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[edit] History
John E. Saxe and Thomas E. Saxe started White Tower Hamburgers after investigating various White Castle locations, observing operations and hiring a White Castle operator. The first location opened near Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin[1] By the end of 1927, there were six locations in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin. In 1929, White Tower put 30 locations in Detroit alone. Despite the Depression, White Tower expanded to 130 locations.[5] White Tower placed many of their locations near train and trolley stops.[1]
In 1929, White Castle sued White Tower in Minnesota for unfair competition and White Tower counter-sued in Michigan as White Tower had arrived in Michigan first. The Minnesota case ended in 1930 in favor of White Castle, forcing White Tower to end its use of similar building designs, slogans and name. The Michigan case dragged on until 1934, revealing the hiring away of a White Castle location operator and photographing of the latest White Castle to keep up on design. A U.S. Court of Appeal later affirmed the lower court's rulings that they had copied White Castle deliberately. White Castle refrained from forcing a name change for White Tower but did require new locations to pay a royalty fee, and to send photos of the locations. Having to change its look, White Tower first used an art deco, then modernistic designs. Territorially, White Tower and White Castle stayed away from each other from then on.[1]
In 1941, White Tower Management Corporation moved its headquarters to Six Suburban Ave., Stamford, CT.[4]
At its peak in the mid-1950s, the chain had 230 stores in several states. It tested the "Tower-O-Matic" automated restaurant in the 1950s and 60s with little success.[4] It also attempted a sit-down restaurant called Marbett's.[6] Many later suburban White Tower restaurants featured curb service with car hops.
Brock Saxe took over as president of White Tower Management Corporation in 1970 from his father, T.E. Saxe, when he retired. Brock changed the name of White Tower Corporation to Tobrock Corporation on the corporation's 50th anniversary as it also owns a chain of steakhouses called Brock's.[7] With the migration of people to the suburbs and most of the White Tower locations in the city, by 1979 only 80 Tombrock Corporation-owned locations remained. Tombrock Corporation branched out into franchising Burger Kings and Golden Skillet Chicken.[5] The last White Tower, located in Toledo, Ohio, closed in 2004.[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Hogan, David Gerard (1997). Selling 'em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food (1st ed.). NYU Press. pp. 52–55. ISBN 0814735673.
- ^ "Burger Joints Midwest Page 2". Roadside Peek.com. http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/midwest/mweats/mwburger/index2.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ a b "United States: OH: Dayton: White Tower Restaurant". ChefMoz dining guide. http://chefmoz.org/United_States/OH/Dayton/White_Tower_Restaurant1089167884.html. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ a b c d "Roadside Highlight: White Tower Hamburgers". Buildings with Taste: Fast Food Restaurants. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/archstories/restaurants/fast_food.asp. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ a b Funderburg, Anne Cooper (2001). "Make it Quick!". Sundae Best: A History of Soda Fountains. Popular Press. p. 140. ISBN 087972854X. http://books.google.com/books?id=Wr_yPYvkNWwC&pg=PA140&dq=White+Tower+Hamburgers&lr=&sig=WP7QjL2ombB43OWjhGslWEtP09Q. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ "White Tower & Marbett's". dvrbs.com. http://www.dvrbs.com/camden/CamdenNJ-WhiteTower-Marbetts.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ Swart, Hannah W. (September 1980). "Bookmarks/Wisconsin: White Towers review". Wisconsin Academy review (Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters) 26 (4): 48. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/WI.v26i4. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
- ^ http://money.howstuffworks.com/10-flopped-restaurants8.htm
