That Extremely Realistic White Castle on Edgewood Continues to Fake People Out

The White Castle that materialized last month in an empty lot next door to Joystick Gamebar on Edgewood Avenue is neither permanent, nor real. It’s part of a TV series set that, despite being widely reported as such by various news outlets over the summer, continues to fake people out driving by it on Edgewood.

Sorry, no sacks of sliders here, Atlanta. The closest White Castle is in Nashville.

Reports of the mysterious White Castle’s emergence along Edgewood in its popular nightlife district first appeared on social media in July.

“While the inside and outside will look like a White Castle, it will just be for production purposes,” Joystick owners Johnny Martinez and Brandon Ley wrote on Instagram at the time. “Edgewood will be doubling as a Chicago street . . . Harold and Kumar are not coming to Atlanta.”

Some sleuthing by Urbanize ATL uncovered the hastily constructed, extremely realistic White Castle is actually a set piece for an upcoming Disney+ and Marvel Studios series called “Ironheart”, an “Iron Man” spinoff starring Dominique Thorne as armor suit inventor Riri Williams. Martinez tells Eater the White Castle might be used for a big fight scene.

Filming shut down a portion of Edgewood Avenue earlier in September and saw the temporary closures of Joystick and Georgia Beer Garden across the street on Edgewood. The latter is also owned by Martinez and Ley, who provided their employees with paid vacation time courtesy of Hollywood to recoup lost wages during the shutdown. September is typically a slow month, Martinez says, who calls the short break and compensation a “nice boost” for the bars and their employees.

“They are using Joystick for equipment and GBG for extras. They are sadly not filming inside,” Martinez says. “But they are filming outside on the street. So maybe there will be a split second of the Joystick sign.”

Both Joystick and Georgia Beer Garden have since reopened. “Ironheart”, however, won’t air until next fall.

The White Castle is due to be torn down soon, or possibly imploded or torched (remember that aforementioned fight scene). And with its demise on Edgewood go the dreams of stumbling in for sliders by the sackful after the bars close for the night.

But don’t fret, Atlanta, there’s always Krystal.