Whataburger opened 9 restaurants in SC in 2024. Here’s where & how they’re doing
The national chain Whataburger breezed through South Carolina in 2024 like blue bonnets swaying in the wind, opening nine locations in the Midlands and the Upstate.
The Texas-based chain is known for its easily customizable burgers — they claim there are 40,000 ways to make a Whataburger.
“Every opening has brought superfans lining up hours early to get their first taste — and they continue to do well,” a spokesperson on the media team said. “It’s been amazing to serve the local community, meet regulars, connect with Texpats, and introduce locals to their new Whataburger favorites.”
Initially the company said it would open 10, the last one being in Lexington, but the spokesperson said the opening will be in early 2025.
Through the fall, Whataburger was opening one every few weeks, and bringing the fanfare of free meals for a year to the early arrivals and some Whataburger swag to others.
In some locations, police and staff helped direct the crush of traffic.
The first to open was in Boiling Springs in July. It marked the 16th state Whataburger was located in. It’s at 3647 Boiling Springs Road in Spartanburg County.
The other locations are:
- 2900 Main St., Anderson
- 202 Bridgeberry Lane, Columbia
- 1466 Woodruff Road, Greenville
- 1189 Dutch Fork Road, Irmo
- 888 South Lake Drive, Lexington
- 308 West Butler Drive, Mauldin
- 1510 W.O. Ezell Blvd, Spartanburg
- 1941 East Main Street, Spartanburg
The company abandoned a project not far from downtown Greenville because the city planners feared the 24-hour operation would disturb residential communities adjacent to the site. They denied a permit to build the store.
Documents filed with that application said Whataburger expected to do $3.4 million in sales a year at that location.
The chain is not related to the Midlands-based What-A-Burger, which is locally owned.
Whataburger is based in San Antonio, Texas, with sales of more than $3 billion annually, according to its website. The chain is on an ambitious growth path, opening 15 or more locations a year recently including in areas outside its southern roots.
The company started in 1950 as a roadside burger stand by Harmon Dobson in Corpus Christi, Texas. Dobson died in a crash of a private plane in 1967, and his wife Grace took over the company. By the time she died in 2005 at age 80, the company had grown to 600 stores. Now it has 1,050.
The family sold its majority interest in the company in 2019 to Chicago-based investment firm BDT Capital, which after a 20-year hiatus, started pushing for franchise operators.
The company website says to become a franchisee, a person needs $1.2 million cash, a minimum net worth of $12.5 million and commit to opening at least five locations in five years.
Whataburger is open 24 hours every day except on Christmas Day.
This story was originally published December 14, 2024 at 6:00 AM.