Whataburger
From Free net encyclopedia
Whataburger is a privately held, regional fast-food restaurant specializing in hamburgers. The company, established by Harmon Dobson opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas on August 8, 1950. By 1960 the chain had grown to 17 locations in Texas, Tennessee and Florida. Today, Whataburger, Inc. is still owned and operated by the Dobson family and has over 600 locations in 10 US states and in Mexico. The corporate headquarters are in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Whataburger was known for its distinctive A-Framed, orange and white striped roofed buildings (newer buildings are built similar to other fast-food chains, though the roof is built in the orange-and-white triangular shape). Most Whataburger restaurants are open 24 hours, unlike most other competitors. Aside from the classic Whataburger other menu items include the Whataburger Jr. (a smaller version of the Whataburger), The Justaburger (a Whataburger Jr. with only mustard, pickles, and onions), the Whatacatch fish sandwich, Whatachick'n, breakfast sandwiches and tacos.
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Timeline and Milestones
- 1950 First Whataburger opens in Corpus Christi, Texas
- 1960 17 Locations in Texas, Tennessee and Florida
- 1961 First A-Frame restaurant opens in Odessa, Texas
- 1962 Fries and hot pies added to the menu
- 1963 26 Locations, expansion into Arizona
- 1967 Adopted the "Flying-W" logo, founder Harmon Dobson dies in aplane crash, his wife Grace takes the helm of the chain
- 1971 First drive through restaurant
- 1972 Opened 100th location
- 1973 Whataburger Jr. added to the menu, new restaurant design opens
- 1979 Number of locations doubled since 1971
- 1980 Opened 300th location
- 1982 Offered 24/7 service in 3 Corpus Christi locations
- 1983 Breakfast Taquitos, Breakfast on a Bun(R) and Whatachick'n added to the menu
- 1984 Opened 400th location
- 1985 expands into Mexico, opens 500th restaurant, is the 8th-largest hamburger chain
- 1996 New restaurant design opens
- 2000 celebrates 50 years of operation with 575 locations
- 2001 The 77th Texas State Legislature passes a resolution naming Whataburger a Texas State Treasure
Trivia
On Phoenix Suns televised basketball games, commentator Al McCoy used to advertise Whataburger by adding What a shot, Whataburger!! to his traditional Shazam! every time a Suns player made a three point shot.
Whataburger appears in several episodes in the Texas-based animated TV series King of the Hill.
In the early 1980s, country star Mel Tillis starred in a few Whataburger TV commercials when the franchise expanded into Tennessee. One of the commercials was the introduction of the Taquito (c. 1983) on the breakfast menu.
On September 1 2005, Grace Dobson, who ran the Whataburger chain after her husband passed away in 1967 died of cancer. The company remains privately held and is still run by members of the Dobson family.
See also
- Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks