STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 

NEW YORK STATE RESTAURANT 

ASSOCIATION, 

Plaintiff, 

- against - No. 2007 Civ. 

NEW YORK CITY BOARD OP HEALTH, 

NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND MENTAL HYGIENE, and Thomas R. Frieden, DECLARATION OF 

In His Official Capacity as Commissioner : JAMIE RTCHARDSON 

of the New York State Department of Health 

and Mental Hygiene, 

Defendants. 

JAMIE RTCHARDSON hereby declares under penalty of perjury as follows: 

i. I am Director of Marketing for White Castle Management Company ("White 

Castle"). I have held this position for seven years. White Castle is a member of the New York 

State Restaurant Association and has more than thirty-five restaurants in New York City. 

2. White Castle supports the goal of having a healthier nation. We believe that a 

balanced diet, combined with a healthy and active lifestyle, offers the best plan for overall 

fitness. White Castle is constantly monitoring our menu and key products. In recent years we 

have improved our fish sandwich and chicken sandwich specifications; and we are moving 

forward with a new bun to be used on our fish, chicken and breakfast sandwiches. 

3. White Castle has long recognized the importance of allowing customers more 

easily to understand the nutritional values of the foods they consume. More than fifteen years 

ago White Castle began voluntarily providing consumers with key nutritional facts about our 

menu products in a variety of ways. We provided this information initially using a brochure 

Case 1:07-cv-05710-RJH Document 9 Filed 06/18/2007 Page 1 of 5
was available in our restaurants, and upon request, at our drive through windows. Nine 

years ago we began publishing the nutrient contents of our menu items on our website, which 

provides an easy access point for consumers to get nutrition information. Our website offered 

consumers information on calories, fat, trans fat, protein, sodium and carbohydrates for each of 

our menu items. Because approximately eighty per cent of the meals White Castle provides are 

eaten offpremises, we have been very proactive in trying to find easy ways for our customers to 

contact us so that we can share information with them about our products, including nutritional 

content. We have constantly evaluated how best to share relevant information with customers. 

We set up a toll fi~ee number that consumers could call and request nutrition information about 

any one of our products. In many restaurants we also provided nutrition information using 

posters mounted next to the ordering area. 

4. As a result of the passage of New York City's menu board labeling regulation, 

White Castle decided in February 2007 to remove nutrition information about its menu items 

from its website and not to display posters or hand out brochures containing nutrition 

information at its restaurants. A copy of the materials formerly posted on our website is attached 

as Exhibit A. A copy of the brochure we formerly handed out in stores is attached as Exhibit B. 

White Castle has also stopped providing nutrition information through its toll ~i~ee number. 

White Castle felt compelled to take this action for three reasons. 

5. One, we disagree with the Regulation because it requires those restaurants that 

disclose comprehensive nutrition information about their menu items to provide only a partial 

picture of the nutrient content offfre foods on the menu boards. Unlike our website which people 

could review at their own pace and which contained information tailored to all health needs, 

-2- 

Case 1:07-cv-05710-RJH Document 9 Filed 06/18/2007 Page 2 of 5
calories alone provides incomplete information and assumes that all consumers are the 

same. 

6. Two, the requirement that we post calories on the menu board in a typeface and 

type size that is the same as the name of the item or its price, whichever is larger, presents great 

logistical difficulties for us. We do not have enough room on the menu boards to present this 

information legibly. As it is, we have optimized the use of available space on our menu boards. 

We would have to reduce tl~e font of the price, calories and item name to a size that would make 

it difficult for customers to read. It is very important to us to convey information in a customerfriendly way, and we did not believe that complying with New York City's regulation would 

allow us to do that. 

7. Attempting to comply with New York City's regulation would have been even 

more difficult at our driire-throughs. The signage at our drive-throughs is strictly regulated by 

tl~e local toeing authorities, and we must obtain permits for any signs we have outside our stores. 

The requirement to list calories on the menu board would in all likelihood have meant additional 

signage for restaurant drive-throughs. However, in most city neighborhoods we are already 

under stringent regulations regarding how much signage we are allowed. 

8. Three, we are aware that a number of cities and states across the country have 

proposed labeling regulations for restaurants. Based on our review, many require that this 

information be presented in different ways. Changes in requirements such as these translate into 

cost increases for a day-to-day operation which in turn puts pressure on prices to consumers. 

Restaurants operate in an intensely competitive environment, where margins may be small. 

White Castle concluded that it needed time to study whether there was a cost-effective and 

-3- 

Case 1:07-cv-05710-RJH Document 9 Filed 06/18/2007 Page 3 of 5
way to comply with the different information posting regulations that would also be 

customer-friendly. 

-4- 

Case 1:07-cv-05710-RJH Document 9 Filed 06/18/2007 Page 4 of 5
declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 U.S.C. g 1746 that the foregoing is true 

and correct. 

Executed onrune ~, 2007 

JAMIE RTCHARDSON 

-5- 

Case 1:07-cv-05710-RJH Document 9 Filed 06/18/2007 Page 5 of 5