Few restaurant brands — if any — have captured the attention of the Carolinas that Whataburger has before its locations have even broken ground. And in North Carolina, the openings are now so close that we can almost taste its fan-favorite Spicy Ketchup.
While the Texas-based hamburger chain entered the South Carolina market to great fanfare in 2024, North Carolina’s time has come in 2025, with at least eight restaurants set to open. (OK, technically, one of those is in South Carolina’s Indian Land community, but it’s in the restaurant’s Charlotte market.)
CharlotteFive chatted with Whataburger CEO Debbie Stroud — who lived in North Carolina for 16 years — to help you get ready with all the need-to-know information on the restaurant and its food before its arrival. Here’s what we found out:
Whataburger 101
Let’s start at the beginning, with a few of the Whataburger basics:
- Whataburger got its start in Texas as a Corpus Christi hamburger stand in 1950, so the restaurant is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
- It’s open 24 hours, and burgers are always available. Breakfast is served from 11 p.m.-11 a.m.
- Each Whataburger is made to order with what Stroud calls “ranch-to-restaurant” all-American beef that’s fresh and hasn’t been frozen. (A new processing plant in Atlanta was built to support the new Southeast region stores coming on board.) Tomatoes, lettuce and onions are all cut fresh daily in store, too.
- A standard Whataburger comes with tomato, lettuce, pickles, diced onions and mustard on a 5” bun.
- The entire menu is customizable. You can choose a smaller bun, Texas Toast or remove it altogether for no charge. Other sauce options include ketchup, mayo, creamy peppercorn and honey BBQ. And for an additional charge, toppings such as bacon, grilled onions, jalapenos and avocado are available.
[WHAT ABOUT THAT OTHER BURGER PLACE? NC’s What-A-Burger vs. Texas’ Whataburger: We break down the differences, look at history.]
Where to start
“We love talking to our customers about our food, which I know might slow down the drive through or our interaction with you at the front counter a bit. But particularly when we’re opening up in new markets, we want to talk with you about what you like,” Stroud said…