Whataburger Facts: Owners, Stores, Ingredients and Trivia

Whataburger at a glance

• Founded: 1950, Corpus Christi, Texas, by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton.
• Headquarters: 300 Concord Plaza Drive, San Antonio, Texas (since 2009).
• Owner: BDT Capital Partners (majority, since 2019); the Dobson family holds a small stake.
• CEO: Ed Nelson, since August 2020.
• Stores: 1,217 in 17 states, 787 of them in Texas (store directory, October 2026).
• Revenue: more than $3 billion in 2022, with about 50,000 employees.
• Known for: the #1 Whataburger on a 5-inch bun, orange-and-white A-frame buildings, 24-hour stores and Spicy Ketchup.

Sources: Wikipedia's Whataburger article for company facts and Whataburger's store directory for store counts.

How it started

Harmon Dobson wanted a burger that took two hands to hold and made you say "What a burger!". He and Paul Burton opened the first store in August 1950 on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, across from Del Mar College, selling a quarter-pound burger for 25 cents.

The partners split in 1951 over a price rise to 30 cents. The full timeline is on Whataburger history.

The name, the W and the A-frame

Dobson trademarked the name in June 1950. A pilot, he designed the orange-and-white striped A-frame building (first opened in Odessa in 1961), and the Flying W logo was commissioned in 1967, the year he died in a plane crash. More on why it is called Whataburger.

Ownership and leadership

After Dobson's death, his widow Grace ran the company and became chairman in 1969. Their son Tom became CEO in 1993. The family sold a majority stake to BDT Capital Partners in June 2019, and Ed Nelson was promoted to CEO in 2020.

Franchising is limited: in 2019, 126 locations were franchised. See can you buy a Whataburger franchise.

Where Whataburger is

Texas has 787 stores, led by San Antonio (59) and Houston (56). Outside Texas the biggest states are Florida (54), Oklahoma (51), Arizona (45), Georgia (43). There is one store in Nevada, on the Las Vegas Strip, and none in California, where Whataburger closed its stores in 1987.

Full lists: Whataburger locations and what states have Whataburger.

24 hours a day

Three Corpus Christi stores began 24/7 service in 1982. Today, 1,129 stores list a 24-hour drive-thru. Breakfast runs from 11 pm to 11 am, and the regular menu stays on at 24-hour stores. See Whataburger hours.

The menu, then and now

The 1950 menu was the Whataburger, soft drinks and chips. Fries and hot pies came in 1962; Breakfast On A Bun, the Whatachick'n and taquitos in 1983; Whatameals, cookies, biscuits and chicken strips after 1993. Today the #1 is $5.99 and the menu runs from burgers and chicken to breakfast, shakes and WhataWings.

Every price is on Whataburger menu prices and every number on Whataburger menu numbers.

Store-count milestones

• 1963: 26 stores, after expanding to Arizona.
• 1967: 40 restaurants in four states.
• 1972: 100th store.
• 1980: 300th store.
• 1987: 400th store.
• 1995: 500th store, when it was the country's eighth-largest hamburger chain.
• 2000: 575 stores at the 50th anniversary.
• 2007: 700 stores in ten states and $1 billion in annual revenue.
• 2022: more than 900 restaurants in 14 states and over $3 billion in revenue.
• October 2026: 1,217 stores in 17 states (store directory).

Expansion since 2021

Whataburger moved into the Midwest from 2021 with stores around Kansas City and Wichita, and as far north as St. Joseph, Missouri. On January 5, 2022 the first of eight Middle Tennessee stores opened in Hermitage. The Atlanta area followed, with the first store in Kennesaw in November 2022. In 2023 Flower Mound, then the largest Texas city without a Whataburger, approved its first one, and in May 2024 the company announced six North Carolina and nine South Carolina locations.

Why the headquarters moved

Whataburger was based in Corpus Christi for almost 60 years. After Hurricane Ike hit the Texas coast in 2008, it announced a permanent move to San Antonio, citing a larger talent pool, more protection from hurricanes and cost-efficient office space. In 2009 it bought the 140,000-square-foot Concord Plaza building, near San Antonio International Airport.

Leadership team

As of 2022, Whataburger was led by president and CEO Ed Nelson, with Debbie Stroud as chief operating officer, Rich Scheffler as chief marketing officer, Janelle Sykes as chief financial officer, Elena Kraus as chief legal officer and James Turcotte as chief development officer. About 50,000 people worked for the company that year.

Groceries and retail

Whataburger sauces have been sold at H-E-B since 2014, and the success led the company to add one-pound packages of Whataburger bacon at H-E-B and Central Market. Its condiments come in 14 oz and 20 oz squeeze bottles, alongside jars of picante sauce and salsa verde and boxed pancake mix.

The biggest Whataburger

"Whataburger by the Bay" opened on May 6, 1999 on Shoreline Boulevard in Corpus Christi. At 6,000 square feet it is the largest Whataburger, and it has a life-size bronze statue of founder Harmon Dobson. It sits in the city where the first store opened in 1950, so it is a stop for fans on a Texas road trip.

Advertising

In 2003 Whataburger hired Austin agency McGarrah Jessee, which built campaigns around actor William Bassett's voice. In 2011 the ads switched to a documentary style, with employees and customers describing what makes Whataburger special in their own words.

Ingredients and quality

Whataburger is widely reported to use 100% American beef that is fresh, never frozen, and cooked to order. Questions about fresh vs frozen patties, frying oil and what is in the ketchup are answered on Whataburger ingredients, are the patties fresh or frozen and what oil Whataburger uses.

Ketchup on the shelf

Whataburger sells its ketchups and sauces in grocery stores, led by H-E-B, and sells condiments in squeeze bottles, plus picante sauce, salsa verde and pancake mix. Its Spicy Ketchup is the best known; see Whataburger Spicy Ketchup.

Texas Treasure and pop culture

In 2001 the Texas Legislature passed a bill proclaiming Whataburger a Texas Treasure. A Whataburger, A-frame and logo included, appeared regularly in the animated series King of the Hill. The largest Whataburger, "Whataburger by the Bay" on Shoreline Boulevard in Corpus Christi, opened in 1999 at 6,000 square feet and has a bronze statue of Harmon Dobson.

Sports and sponsorships

Whataburger sponsors music festivals and sports, including Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks, and the Whataburger Sports Complex in Kilgore, Texas. In 2024 it signed Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., a Texas native, as a brand ambassador.

What-A-Burger is not Whataburger

What-A-Burger is an unrelated family chain in Virginia and the Carolinas, also founded in 1950. After lawsuits in 2002 and 2003, a court ruled in 2004 that both could keep their names. When Whataburger announced North Carolina stores in 2024, it filed a new suit over three North Carolina restaurants using the What-A-Burger #13 name.

How Whataburger compares

Compared with national chains, Whataburger stands out for its 5-inch burgers, its numbered menu, and the share of stores open around the clock. Side-by-side comparisons are on Whataburger vs other burger chains, vs In-N-Out and vs McDonald's.