There is a war going on at it is all about hamburgers. The smoking gun? Many different
burgers are battling it out to global domination. McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Five Guys,
and A&W are just a few of the combatants involved in the burger wars and they don't seem to
be backing down any time soon. Whataburger sounds like a new kid on the block, but is
it really? Time to find out. So let’s look at the Top 10 Untold Truths About Whataburger.
Whataburger Is Texas' Best Kept Secret
Whataburger was proclaimed a state treasure. You see, Whataburger was born in Texas on August
8, 1950. And that makes the unique burger factory 68 years old to-date and fast approaching
the grand old dame status. As an iconic brand, Texans hold a deep adulation for their homegrown
burger joint. So when in Texas, do as the Texans do. Do not insult their favorite burger
in any way if you plan on staying out of trouble. In fact, Whataburger Field is the home of
the Corpus Christi Hooks. I am confident that once you taste Whataburger, you can never
hurt the feelings of the average Texan. Odes to Whataburger have been composed by famous
artists and Nike shoes have been designed with the classic Whataburger logo in mind.
Further, an increasing number of sweethearts who met and fell in love inside a Whataburger
establishment are either choosing to get married in the restaurant or renewing their
marriage vows there.
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Whataburger, Not McDonald's Invented the Quarterpounder
Take it from Moreno, the burger sleuth who claims that since 1950, Whataburger has been
using quarter-pound beef patties ahead of Mickey D's, which, by the way, only caught
on with the craze in 1971, according to Javier Moreno at Buzzfeed. Oh, the Johnny come lately!
So stop giving McDonald's more credit than it deserves. In fact, even in an actual taste
test, the Big Mac has lost the game. According to Elizabeth Abrahamsen of Wide Open Country,
Whataburger won the battle fair and square in an arm wrestling of sorts, sponsored by
Fast Company. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Whataburger is hands-down the best-tasting
burger in the US of A without a doubt. And that's why it's called Whataburger.
Spoiler Alert: You'll Need Both Hands to Tackle a Whataburger
One of the things making the Whataburger unique is that the bun alone is already five inches
thick. So what say you, huh, Big Mac? The infamous McDonald's concoction has been fabricated
to make eating it impossible without making a mess, what with all the lettuce, onions,
mayo, and patty bits spilling out. Also, did you notice that the sheer size of McDonald's
flagship product has been shrinking with the passing of years? This hasn't happened to
Whataburger; it's still as big as it used to be. However, nothing can stop you from
ordering Justaburger if you want to downsize at the burger joint, which, as of April 2018,
has 824 branches spread across the USA. You can even try Whatacatch, the company's take
on the fish sandwich, and while doing so, try comparing it with Filet-O-Fish. Also,
feel free to compare and contrast the Whatachick'n with the McChicken.
Whataburger Locales Are Masters at Customization
It is said that there are over 36,000 possible combinations to customize the Whataburger.
Now try doing that with a Big Mac. The company has also managed to cement itself into the
average Texan heart by making its own ketchup, mayo, mustard, and other condiments. Can't
get enough of these condiments? You can also buy them at H-E-B grocery stores that are
found all over the state. Planning to bring a taste or a souvenir of Whataburger home? The
burger craftsman of the Lone Star State just won't be beaten when it comes to merchandising.
To illustrate, you can order a ketchup gift pack complete with a T-shirt, mousepad, reusable
bag, and of course, the ketchup itself, whether spicy, fancy or original--take your pick.
Two Heads Are Better than One: A Whataburger Story
Into every life, some rain must fall. Whataburger is the brainchild of Harmon Dobson and Paul
Burton, whose partnership would prove to be pretty short lived. I guess two extremely
creative dudes just couldn't live forever under one roof, so-to-speak. In less than
a year after the two opened shop in breezy Corpus Christi, Dobson decided to raise the
price of Whataburger from 25 to 30 cents a piece. Just consider that at the time that
a McDonald's burger only cost 15 cents. If you put yourself in the shoes of Burton, you'll
be throwing tantrums at your business partner's decision too. In fairness, however, the drastic
price increase mirrors Dobson's supreme confidence in their flagship product. You can further
contextualize such a brave if not rash decision when you know for a fact that at that point
in time, McDonald's had already been in business for ten years. That's definitely one David
trying to challenge an established Goliath. For all of Dobson's fire in the belly, he
would perish in a plane crash on April 11, 1967. His burger enterprise, however, would
live on as a testament to the Texan business entrepreneurship that's far removed from JR
Ewing of Dallas fame. In fact, Dobson would pass away not even knowing that there's another
burger company in the US called What-A-Burger. And he thought his idea was original. In 1970,
Whataburger and What-A-Burger started suing each other over copyright infringement and
when the dust cleared, the burger company that Dobson built would emerge as the winner.
However, What-A-Burger was still allowed by law to continue to operate as a burger joint
in the state of Virginia and the two Carolinas. The final verdict was that although Whataburger
held an unassailable copyright, the operation of What-A-Burger in its markets was virtually
harmless to the burger chain that Dobson built in Texas.
How the Great Whataburger Tragedy Unfolds
While it all looks like an episode from the hit television series Dallas, which, of course,
wouldn't come into the average Texan consciousness until later in 1978, the Whataburger story
would have quite a different soap opera. The extremely photogenic Lynne Dobson would take
the reins for the burgeoning Texas burger chain with all the trappings of a real cowgirl.
However, the Whataburger matriarch would prove to be tougher than TV's Miss Ellie. In fact,
Mrs. Dobson seemed to rule with an iron hand as she managed to keep the whole Whataburger
enterprise a private business completely oblivious to the growing trend of going public. Was
she inspired by Alexis Carrington Colby? Later, she would hand over the reigns of the Whataburger
business to her son, Hugh, who in turn would rescue the company from becoming a sinking
ship well into the '90s. Hugh's secret? As Tom Peters would have it in his now famous
management book, In Search of Excellence, successful companies who stick to the knitting
get blessed in turn with longevity and financial success. The same can be said for Whataburger,
which nearly perished from the escalating competition had Hugh not decided to return
to what his father's company does best: the hamburger business.
A Secret Menu as Secret as the Star Wars Death Star
After doing his own version of Return of the Jedi, the son who has successfully taken over
the family business from his doting mom could only be blessed with a secret menu that knows
how to attract if not cement a loyal following in Texas and beyond. The Whataburger secret
menu isn't a hamburger unless of course, you consider a chicken burger a hamburger. Hence,
a definition is in order. In the strictest sense, a hamburger must have a beef and not
a chicken patty, although such a distinction could be fading at the rate that the burger
warriors are innovating on their various offerings to the public. So we did some sleuthing and
lo and behold, we found out Whataburger's biggest secret of all. That the best of the
best in the Whataburger menu isn't really the Whataburger per se. Instead, it's this
innocent-looking chicken sandwich that's unceremoniously enclosed in toasted sliced bread. Inside,
you'll find chicken strips held together by a rather spider-web-like cheese. Just make
sure you ask the Whataburger crew to put honey butter instead of honey mustard on the chicken.
Go ahead and order it, but let's keep it on the down-low, okay? Part of the Whataburger
secret menu is Hulk, an odd drink consisting of a Powerade and Vault soda combo. The big
mystery is that we don't know for sure if the Hulk in the equation is Hulk Hogan the
infamous wrestler or The Incredible Hulk. Keeping the mystery alive and well. The bottom
line with secret menus is that the plot thickens unless you actually try to ask the Whataburger
crew what they're up to in a hush-hush fashion inside the Whataburger restaurant or the drive-thru.
A Company Logo as Mysterious as Ancient Aliens
If you're an avid fan of the History Channel's hit series, Ancient Aliens, you will probably
find the Whataburger logo very intriguing. It consists of flowing lines of orange that
forms the impression of the big letter A. The Avengers would have picked this logo for
themselves had the original Whataburger not been wise enough to patent it. As it sits
right now, it's water under the bridge for our favorite bunch of Marvel superheroes.
Long live the Whataburger symbol that has withstood the test of time. It's definitely
the founder's tribute to the art of flight, what with the symbol's flowing lines that
seem ready to disappear in midair at any time. In fact, from afar, the Whataburger logo seems
to warp into the letter W, definitely making it more creative than the original handwritten
Coca-Cola logo. Coke hasn't thought yet of designing a head office that's shaped like
the legendary Coca-Cola body, Marilyn Monroe style. But from the very beginning, Dobson
has seen it fit to let his spirit live on in his company by entrenching his undying
love for aviation. In fact, the very first incarnation of the old man's idea found itself
in the very first Whataburger joints sporting that airplane or airplane hanger look. Lucky
for him, the aviation industry hasn't caught up with adopting the flightful symbol for
a commercial airline carrier. In the era of the drive-through, circa 2000 to be exact,
the classic Whataburger logo would be reborn into a well-integrated A symbol at the center
of a largely box-shaped fast food compound.
The Whataburger in Frisco, Texas Was Among the First to Get Upgraded to the New Look
Any talk about Whataburger complexes inevitably brings us to the colossal Whataburger by the
Bay structure in Corpus Christi. At 6,000 square feet, the chain has every right to
housing the life-size bronze statue of the Whataburger founding father who, like Indiana
Jones, seems to always try cheating death. The rambunctious character either shames or
shades Colonel Sanders of KFC fame. In his otherwise short lifespan, the legendary Dobson
had been a rough neck, a diamond courier, and a pilot who would have loved to fly the
Millennium Falcon. The windmills of Whataburger's quixotic existence and stance was Hurricane
Ike, which literally forced the company to move its headquarters from the bay-positioned
Corpus Christi headquarter to San Antonio, Texas. Hence, by the stroke of a decade after
the second millennium, the Whataburger HQ was already well-entrenched in a less windy
and definitely less hurricane-prone Texan city that's known as the fastest-growing
of the top 10 largest USA cities from 2000 to 2010. That San Antonio made the mark is
a testament to the fiery determination of the Whataburger enterprise to win the ever-intensifying
burger wars of America. Whataburger is definitely no stranger to rapid growth right from the
get-go. Just picture this: At less than ten years old, the business that burger built
was able to establish a beachhead in Florida. A year later, and Whataburger franchises had
spread like wildfire to Tennessee. A decade more and the company would amass more than
a hundred stores. By 2007, there were already 700 Whataburger establishments spread across
ten US states.
Whataburger: The Private Company that Can
While nearly every successful company inevitably opens itself up to the public as a publicly
traded corporation sooner or later, Whataburger has had both the will and the power to stay
on as a family-owned enterprise. To illustrate, the Dobson family still owns at least 611
of the 824 Whataburgers in existence. The rest of the ownership is distributed among
25 franchisees. Amid this scenario, the Dobsons obviously still hold the majority stake
in the business. It's not like they're going to hand over the reins of their beloved enterprise
that still has so much untapped potential. And the raging burger wars can only get bigger.
If the preeminent burger family continues to play its cards well, there's a chance to
beat McDonald's at its game in terms of taste alone. The hamburger is one of America's
greatest inventions. It's the fast food that takes minutes to prepare and not surprisingly,
the first choice of workingmen and soccer moms alike.
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