Whataburger is expanding south in Florida. See where the chain is opening next
Whatburger’s presence in Florida is clustered in the northern part of the state. Now, the fast-food chain is planning to open two new restaurants on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
A year after filing paperwork to build its first Manatee County location, Whataburger is working on opening another in the Bradenton area.
The chain began in Corpus Christi, Texas, and has grown to more than 1,100 restaurants in 17 states. There are 47 locations across North Florida, although none south of St. Augustine.
But that could change with Whataburger’s plans filed with Manatee County to build a restaurant on Cortez Road. In 2024, Whataburger also submitted plans to build its first Bradenton restaurant in the Marketplace at Heritage Harbour shopping center off Interstate 75.
The Cortez location is in the SeaFlower Village Center. Publix anchors the plaza, which has 140,000 additional square feet for dining, shopping and office space, according to SeaFlower’s website. The village center is part of the new SeaFlower neighborhood, where 60 homes have been sold since opening sales in May.
Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger in Corpus Christi in 1950. According to company history, his goal was to serve a burger so big that it would take a customer two hands to hold and after a bite, that customer would say, “What a burger.”
In 1959, Dobson opened the first Whataburger outside of Texas. It was built in Pensacola. The company is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2025.
The restaurants serve burgers, fries, chicken sandwiches and milkshakes. The food is cooked made-to-order, and most locations are open 24 hours.
