White Castle forced to close in Vegas after first-day frenzy

LAS VEGAS -- A 24-hour White Castle location on the Las Vegas Strip that opened to long lines of the burger chain's fans had to close for more than two hours to restock after its grand opening.

The Las Vegas Sun reports the restaurant reopened at about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday. White Castle tweeted the news:

The burger slider chain's first location in Las Vegas opened to much fanfare Tuesday afternoon. The nearest location had been more than 1,500 miles away in Missouri.

White Castle is in the Best Western Plus Casino Royale on the Las Vegas Strip in between The Venetian and Harrah's Las Vegas.

Last year, Time magazine deemed White Castle's small, square sliders "the most influential burger of all time."

The magazine listed 17 influential burgers and notes the "now-iconic square patty" that debuted in 1921 in Wichita, Kan., was the first burger to spawn a fast-food empire. By 1930, White Castle had 10 U.S. locations.

White Castle has been based in Columbus since 1934. Company vice president Jamie Richardson told The Columbus Dispatch that "slider" has been a term of endearment for the little burgers since the 1950s.