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.”
Pensacola has them.
“Texas Envy”, much? you silly SunDevil you...
I have typically found that the best restaurants are owned and operated by local people. There are plenty of great places to get a burger that are not looking to cut corners in order to generate bottom line profit.
For example, in a large national restaurant chain, even minor changes like making the cheese (for cheeseburgers) a little thinner can literally add millions of dollars of profit per year. That kind of profit opportunity is hard for a big chain to pass up whereas it would not have much impact for a single-standing "mom-and-pop" hamburger joint. On a smaller scale, there is more incentive to present a superior product that will bring repeat customers.
Nope, we’ve got those awful orange and brown buildings serving crap burgers right here in Tucson. Even if there were anything to envy about Whataburger (which there is NOT), they’re right here the next time I feel the need to eat a truly boring burger in a truly ugly building.
The Alabama Whataburger I ahve been to is in Clanton, about 45 miles from me, so I only have once in a while; a special treat. I love the Jalapeno Burger.
I went to Santa Barbara for work two years ago, took my teenage son with me, and we had In and Out. Awesome, perfect burgers and fries!
I’m used to Hardees, but Carl’s, out in California, owned by the same firm, is MUCH much better with a huge menu.
I really wish Hardees here would sell the same menu as Carls!
Chicago style pizza put on the menu today ......
They will start serving those dang Chicago dogs. Traitors lol. Maybe even Chicago Pizza......hmmm.
Post 66....................
Agree ......
Well, that was fun while it lasted..
If you live in Texas and have to give WB up for either quality or ownership issues, satisfy your burger urge at almost any locally-owned Mexican restaurant. There are exceptions to any rule, but in most cases, burgers from Mexican restaurants are the largest, most tasty, meat-filled, plain old-fashioned greasiest and inexpensive burgers around. Real hand-cut, unfrozen and crispy fries, too.
“Get a Rope!”
I’m with you. This stinks on ice!
True
Chorizo is like pinto beans. If you grew up eating them all the time,you either love ‘em or hate ‘em. There is no middle ground.
My Hubby loves Chorizo. He makes the best breakfast tacos with it but I’ve never acquired a taste for it but God bless those who do.......;)
I loved me my Leonardo’s Garlic Rolls and my Burrito Bros.
Next comes the “rebranding” to make it appeal outside of Whataburger’s traditional market, then the MBA crowd starts looking to shave pennies here and there, maybe a little filler in the beef at first, the market doesn’t seem to notice so they do it again. Then again. Next thing you know, it’ll be practically indistinguishable from any other fast food chain. Closely held and family owned is the only way to keep a company true to it’s origins anymore.
Pak-A-Burger in Pampa Texas .........my burger safe haven, in operation since 1954.
Ah..... Gibson’s. That brings back some memories.
Sad to see ‘em fold.
At my junior high, the Sugar Bowl was the closest eatery.
You’d get a hot dog with a wienie that had been sliced in half lengthwise, the other half going to someone else’s hot dog. A rip off, it was.
Cardboard burgers, here we come..................
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