Posted on 06/17/2019 9:16:30 AM PDT by Red Badger
Fast-food chain Whataburger – beloved by generations of folks living in the Southeast – is now the property of a Chicago investment firm.
BDT Capital Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in San Antonio-based Whataburger, the companies announced Friday.
Financial terms of the deal were not released.
Whataburger will continue to be headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and the groups will “begin exploring expansion plans,” according to a statement.
Whataburger’s founders, the Dobson family, will keep a minority ownership position in the company. President and CEO Preston Atkinson and board chairman Tom Dobson will keep their seats on the board, but will retire from daily operations.
The decision to sell the company “is both exciting and bittersweet” for the family, Tom Dobson said.
“Whataburger has been the heart and soul of our family legacy for nearly 70 years, but we feel really good about the partnership with BDT,” he said. “They have a track record of success with businesses as special as ours that want to grow, while preserving culture and family history. They are trusted advisors and partners who have worked closely with other family businesses and they have a tremendous reputation for doing the right thing.”
Ed Nelson, Whataburger’s chief financial officer and controller, will become the company’s president. Several other company executives are also being promoted.
Whatburger was founded by entrepreneur Harmon Dobson in 1950. According to the company’s website, Dobson had one goal in mind: “to serve a burger so big that it took two hands to hold, and so good that after a single bite customers couldn’t help but exclaim, ‘What a burger!’ He named his humble burger stand, located on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, ‘Whataburger.’ ”
Today, Whataburger has more than 820 locations, with more than 670 of those in Texas. Whataburger’s other locations are in the South and Southwest, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oklahoma. The company has more than 43,000 employees and has more than $2 billion in annual revenue, according to a company news release.
“Whataburger is an iconic brand and extraordinary company with an important legacy of family ownership, loyal customers, valuable community involvement, dedicated and talented employees, and a highly experienced management team,” Tiffany Hagge, managing director of BDT Capital Partners, said in a written statement. “We look forward to a long-term partnership with the Whataburger team, continuing their commitment to serving high-quality, great-tasting food at a value and delivering a superior customer experience. We are excited to support Whataburger as they continue to innovate and pursue accelerated growth in existing and new markets.”
The sale was not unexpected. Whataburger said last month that it had hired investment banking firm Morgan Stanley to help the company figure out how best to fuel its expansion.
“Whataburger has grown significantly over the years. And, in order to keep satisfying our customers, we’ve been exploring different options to expand the brand and introduce it to new audiences,” Atkinson said. “We’ve gone through this process purposefully and diligently because we wanted to find a partner who honors our values, culture and 69-year legacy of family tradition.”
Dang .........thats just wrong in so many ways ...
“Texas Envy”, much? you silly SunDevil you...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LOL!
I think we used to go to Joes back when my wife smoked Marlboro lights and we lived on Estes rd in a former hunting cabin to Woodmont plantation behind Estes Glen on Sugartree Creek
A little cabin on stilts due to flooding...fireplace ...working...in every room
Two of our kids conceived in that convenient hideaway I only paid 1000/month rent for
We’ve been in rural Williamson for 11 years now...it’s all our baby who’s now 12 has ever known
My other kids remember Fredericksburg and Tyne Blvd neighborhood
I will try Joes
Busters is in Murfreesboro on north Broad if you’re ever there.....open since early 70s
My first love lived there and she loved Busters ....every time I go with my kids they are like yes we know dad you ate here with beautiful Arkansas native Kathy who looked like Olivia Newton John here in the late 70s at that very booth .. ....you’ve only told us 20 times
I’m told boomers are nostalgic
Rotiers is no longer open at night...btw...
I’ve sadly learned that
The divorced owners both live in northern Maury around Santa Fe
Leipers Creek rd and Hwy 7
Quite a drive and they’ve tired of it
The old grandma I think passed away....
Probably my favorite burger joint...
The neon and pecky cypress
And that Clydesdale beer sign with the horses moving...
Old school
Hope you’re well
I haven’t been to a Whataburger in years...quit them along with all the other fast food places long ago. In the late 70s or maybe early 80s they made a glass coffee cup, bring it in and you got a nickel coffee. Had a nickel embossed on the side of it. My uncle and I got no telling how many nickel cups of coffee in Corpus Christie, maybe at the same original shop, I don’t know. That was our regular coffee stop whenever we left the house, especially on the way to fish for Redfish and Speckled Trout...not much open at 4AM but the coffee there was usually pretty decent...
The building is still there on Motley Dr.
But it’s been converted to a maintenance annex for the elementary school.
It was an old one with the big W on the A-frame, neon lights. All gone now.
Do you remember the Casa View Drive-in movie?
When it was still standing you could see the top of it from our driveway.
Can’t recall the year that was torn down but it was closed years before it was demolished.
There was a Baskin Robbins on Gus Thomason Rd. back then too, but I am not certain of the exact dates.
Yep, open 24/7!
I wonder if the new owners will stop that?...............
Yes they are. Mama and I are counting the change jug to see if We have enough to cover gas and the bill at the nearest location.
lol
“Culver’s is upper MidWest”
Culvers opened up a store in NC. Should have kept it in the midwest.
I don’t remember the drive-in, but I’m sure my sister would. I was more familiar with the one in Garland where they put in the Hypermart. I certainly went to that Baskins a lot. It turned into a Mexican bakery. I rarely drive that stretch, so I don’t know if the building is still there. I was a big fan of the Putt Putt, though. I specifically remember them having Outrun, Quartet, Space Harrier, Paperboy, Mikie.
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