Raleighites, get ready to dip your fries in Whataburger Fancy Ketchup.
According to The News & Observer, Raleigh, Durham + Cary will each welcome a Whataburger location and are in the very early stages of planning — no definitive locations are set just yet.
In February, the Texas-based burger chain announced its expansion into Charlotte, Fayetteville, and Greensboro with five burger-flipping stores. Whataburger isn’t to be confused with NC’s What-A-Burger, a nostalgic eatery with just a few locations remaining.
The chain operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and plans to employ around 100 people per restaurant.
In case you aren’t familiar with the hamburger haven out of The Lone Star State, the restaurant has been flipping patties since 1950 and is known for its original A-frame structures, specialty products + burgers, and fan-favorite late night breakfast.
In November 2023, Whataburger President and CEO Ed Nelson recently told the Post and Courier the company was eyeing Raleigh and Charlotte for a potential expansion of the Texas-based burger chain in 2025.
The iconic orange-and-white-striped restaurant plans to expand along the I-85 corridor with South Carolina’s first stores opening next year in Greenville, Anderson, and Spartanburg.
“I get the honor of bringing Whataburger to the Carolinas, to Atlanta, to Charlotte, to Raleigh, and to many other communities,” said Nelson to the Post and Courier in November.
Can’t wait to try them out? The closest locations opening in 2024 will be in Irmo and Lexington, SC, which is approx. 3.5 hours from downtown Raleigh.
