Whataburger has two new restaurant prototypes, and it has customers to thank.
Chief development officer Todd Ewen says design development started with listening. Guests told the company that they missed some elements that made “Whataburger feel like a Whataburger,” and he admits the 76-year-old company moved away from that across its recent iterations.
Billy Bias, director of design, notes that Whataburger used the A-frame from the beginning of its history until the mid-2000s. Now it’s coming back.
The prototypes take different approaches. One has the well-known A-frame, built with a larger dining room. Another is streamlined and rectangular shaped. The former is 3,000 square feet while the latter is around 2,000 square feet. Previous Whataburger designs have been approximately 3,500 square feet.
Both will have the chain’s classic orange and white stripes, natural wood tones, expanded glass elements, modern materials, flexible seating, and dedicated areas for mobile ordering and third-party delivery. In fact, each design will have two dedicated doors—one will lead guests right to the counter while the other directly leads to the online order pickup area. In terms of drive-thru, Whataburger is considering multiple options, depending on the site. Most existing restaurants have two lanes, but the smaller prototype will fit onto smaller plots, which could mean a single lane. However, each design will have a drive-thru door employees can walk through rather than a window.
In addition to customer appeal, the prototypes also increase efficiency, particularly for back-of-house workers using improved equipment and kitchen flow. It’s also more cost-effective; Bias says Whataburger has used masonry to build the exterior for the past decade and a half, but now it’s going with a fiber cement option that allows for one subcontractor on site and speedier construction.
“That A-frame, the orange and white stripes, they’re just not design features—they’re really tied to the memories,” Ewen says. “For our customers, it’s going to be the road trips for the family, the chess club, in the restaurant after the football games, etc. So we just think that is going to ring true for the customers. And then in new markets, we think it’s going to really stand out—the stripes, the A-frame. It’s really going to be unique features for the new markets.”
The new designs will debut in Whataburger’s home state of Texas, followed by expansion in North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, and Georgia. Construction is expected to start later in 2026 and openings should start in early 2027.
The A-frame design will be the workhorse and the one that pops up in a majority of new markets, where guests may not be as familiar with the brand as those in Texas. Whataburger has even received feedback from some municipalities saying it’s “one of the most interesting designs we’ve seen in a long time from a restaurant,” according to Ewen.
The streamlined prototype will be for the smaller holes in between, where a traditional A-frame restaurant wouldn’t be able to fit. Ewen refers to it as “another tool in the toolkit.”
“Texas obviously gives us the opportunity to observe and test and have learning, so that was a natural initial rollout of the two prototypes,” Ewen says. “Really the pipeline of our new sites drove where we’re going to see them. So North Carolina is a growth market for us. Florida is a growth market. Georgia is a growth market. So it’s really just a pipeline decision—nothing unique or different. It’s just we think it’s going to be the natural progression of where we want to grow the brand, and we love the Carolinas and we love Florida as new markets. And what a great way to launch some excitement, and again, the iconic elements that they may not be used to, that Texans are used to.”
Whataburger is among the top 10 largest burger chains in the U.S., in terms of systemwide sales and unit count. In recent years, the brand has emphasized growth outside of Texas, including its debut in North Carolina in May 2025 and South Carolina in July 2024. The brand, which primarily grows via company-operated restaurants, debuted a net of 76 stores in 2025 and 88 in 2024.
Ewen hopes that with the prototypes, customers see a company that cares, and that they walk away with a sense of pride in their community.
Bias agrees, and is looking forward to spreading Whataburger’s unique structures to new guests nationwide.
“It goes back to our multi-generational design,” Bias says. “And you know the Whataburger heritage, but we’ve seen it in more of a reimagined way—delivering that Whataburger experience to these new markets. Texans, they know the Whataburger experience. They grew up with it. They know the emotion that comes with it, but creating new emotions and stoking and evoking new memories and nostalgia with these new customers is a big point for us. We really want to create a sense of place for them, create an environment that builds these memories and leaves a lasting impression for all our new customers.”
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