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Heavy demand forces Florida's newest White Castle to close for a day

The craving is real.

ORLANDO, Fla. — All that pent-up demand for burger sliders in Florida forced the state's newest restaurant to close up shop for a day.

Cravers virtually stormed the White Castle in Orlando on Tuesday, its first day of operations that exceeded the company's "wildest expectations," the Orlando Sentinel reports. The restaurant made orders for delivery only as it's operating in what's known as a "ghost kitchen" that doesn't have a dining room.

The amount of traffic crushed the Uber Eats app, forcing the company to hit "pause" on online orders into the lunch rush, according to WFOL-TV. White Castle vice president Jamie Richardson told the Sentinel the company is working on delivery ordering equipment upgrades and wants to have it in place before doing deliveries again. 

The restaurant closed Wednesday to make way for those changes but plans to reopen Thursday for take-out only through order.whitecastle.com

"We knew the first day for our White Castle virtual kitchen would be big — and it has been even bigger than expected!" the company said in a statement to the Orlando Weekly. "...We’re looking forward to satisfying White Castle cravings here in the days, months and years to come."

RELATED: Florida's newest White Castle in years opens Tuesday for delivery

Florida used to have a few White Castle locations more than 50 years ago when the company founder started those stores after retirement, according to the Naples Daily News. They closed after not being able to operate far from their suppliers.

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