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Apparently, Whataburger is a big deal.
The grand opening of the fast food chain's first Atlanta-area location in Kennesaw literally had traffic backed up three blocks earlier this week...
For the previous eight years, Whataburger operated a mere one restaurant in the entire state of Georgia, the location in the small South Georgia town of Thomasville. At first, this would seem random. Why would the only Whataburger in Georgia be in Thomasville, which is actually smaller than Milledgeville? Thomasville, however, basically is a bedroom community of Tallahassee, Fl., which has five Whataburgers. The company's Florida operations are all based in the northern part of the state, primarily the panhandle and the Jacksonville area.
To explain Whataburger, in terms of a cult-like following, it might be said that "Whataburger is to Texas what Chick-fil-A is to Georgia." There are roughly 700 Whataburgers in Texas.
Not until last year did the Whataburger corporation make the decision to dip its toes into the Atlanta market, which is fertile yet saturated territory. The first location opened earlier this week in Kennesaw, while another is scheduled to open later this month in Woodstock, also in the north metro. According to the company's website, the plan is to open six more locations in 2023:
• Cumming
• Buford
• two in Athens, one on Lexington Road and one on the Atlanta Highway
•Commerce
• Dawsonville
The bad news for local Whataburger enthusiasts was that Milledgeville did not make the list. Nor did Macon or Warner Robins or anywhere else in Middle Georgia. The good news, however, is that Whataburger isn't sticking exclusively to the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area. Athens, Commerce and Donaldsonvile are all outside of the Atlanta MSA.
Added its website: "Whataburger has focused on its fresh, made-to-order burgers and friendly customer service since 1950 when Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger as a small roadside burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas. Today, the company is headquartered in San Antonio with more than 900 locations across its 14-state footprint and sales of more than $3 billion annually. Whataburger is a 2022 Top Workplaces winner. The brand has more than 50,000 Family Members (employees) and more than 60 million customers who like to customize their Whataburgers just like they like it. Visit whataburger.com for more information."
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