page_title: Whataburger
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Whataburger / History / Early years
caption_attribution_description: A Whataburger, fries, and a soft drink in College Station, TX
context_page_description: Whataburger is an American privately held, regional fast food restaurant chain, headquartered and based in San Antonio, Texas, that specializes in hamburgers. The company, founded by Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton, opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1950. Family-owned by the Dobsons until 2019, the chain is now managed by a venture capital company along with the Dobson family still holding a small stake.
  There are more than 670 stores in Texas and over 150 in New Mexico, Arizona and the southern United States, of which 126 are franchised.
  Whataburger was known for many years for its distinct A-framed orange-and-white-stripe-roofed buildings. The first A-frame restaurant was built in Odessa, Texas, and is now a historical landmark. The site is scheduled to be demolished in 2019 and transformed into a "more modern" building.
  The company's core products includes the "Whataburger", the "Whataburger Jr.", the "Justaburger", the "Whatacatch", and the "Whatachick'n". The company also has a breakfast menu.
context_section_description: In 1950, Harmon Dobson and Paul Burton were looking to open a hamburger restaurant. Dobson's goal was to "make a better burger that took two hands to hold and tasted so good that when you took a bite you would say 'What a burger!'" In June 1950, Dobson was granted the Whataburger trademark. In August of that year they opened their first location on Ayers Street in Corpus Christi, Texas, across from Del Mar College. The store sold burgers for 25 cents, and also sold drinks and chips.
  In 1951, Burton and Dobson ended their partnership after arguments concerning Dobson's price raise of the burger from 25 to 30 cents. Burton settled with owning the Whataburger franchises in San Antonio, Texas. Months later, prices for burgers were raised to 35 cents. In 1952, Dobson opened a location in Kingsville, Texas, the first store outside of Corpus Christi. In 1953, Joe Andrews, Sr. became the first non-founder franchise owner with a location in Alice, Texas. In 1959, the first Whataburger restaurant outside Texas opened in Pensacola, Florida.
caption: A hamburger, french fries, and a soft drink at a Whataburger in College Station, Texas
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