You Don’t Have to Be a Five-Star Restaurant to Create a Five-Star Experience.

Much has been made of the cultural icon that is White Castle. We tend to dismiss the tiny square burgers that are colloquially referred to as “gut bombs.” White Castle is never going to make it on anyone’s list of unforgettable meals (unless you’re referring to the gastrointestinal distress type of “unforgettable”).

And that’s a bit unfair, because White Castle’s history stands at odds with our cultural dismissal of the brand. Founder Walt Anderson was one of the first to the fast food market in the early 1920s. He was obsessive over high standards and spotless stores. Fresh beef was delivered twice daily and meat was ground and cooked right where customers could see it for themselves. In the years to come, their newly-built restaurants would be finished with white porcelain enameled steel, which meant it was always sparkling and easy to clean. (You can hear more of White Castle’s history on a fascinating episode of the 99% Invisible podcast.)

Nevertheless, White Castle is no longer synonymous with high standards and spotless stores. Fair or not, they live at the bottom of the fast food food chain. No one thinks of White Castle when they think of a five-star experience. I’m not debating their health department scores or cult following, I’m just saying when we think of luxury, we never think of White Castle.

Unless.

Unless you happen to visit certain White Castles on Valentine’s Day, when stores get transformed into “fine dining establishments” complete with “hostesses who seat you [and] servers who serve you.” It’s a reservations-only experience that only happens once a year in a highly self-aware, almost self-deprecating publicity stunt.

And I think it’s fantastic.

Now, a word of warning to my fellow husbands: I do not suggest you play this dangerous game unless (a) your wife is in on the joke or (b) she’s a huge fan of tiny burgers. But White Castle’s Valentine’s Day tradition is a reminder to all of us: you don’t have to be a five-star restaurant to deliver a five-star experience. White Castle is making the most of what they have. They’re not raising prices for a day, they’re offering more value for a day. They’re not renovating restaurants in a multi-million dollar rebuild, they’re temporarily redecorating familiar spaces. They’re not jettisoning their staff and bringing in new people, they’re adding new roles and reassigning workers to fill them.

I think it’s brilliant. I think White Castle teaches us a ton about how to bring the wow without breaking the bank. I think that when we bemoan our budget (or lack thereof), when we say it can’t be done, when we feel like we’re at the end of our creative rope, that’s when we can look to White Castle’s Valentine’s Day extravaganza and remember: we don’t have to be a five-star restaurant to create a five-star experience.