The End of an Era in Fast Food

1976: Royal Castle Closes After Thirty-Eight Years

February 9, 1976 was a sad, sad, day for Fast Foodies in South Florida. On that day the Royal Castle chain announced that it was closing its doors for good.

Ike Seamans reports on Royal Castle's demise, leading with WTVJ file footage of the opening of the one-hundredth restaurant in 1962. Founder/owner William Singer started the chain in 1938 and sold it in 1969 for fifteen million dollars.

The new owners sold stores to cash in on rising real estate values. Singer scorned these decisions in an interview for this story, saying, "There's a certain emotional interest...I wouldn't have sold at any price if I had a profitable store."

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This clip is derived from news film in the WTVJ Collection. Accession number 021-40; airdate February 9, 1976.