Will Augusta be getting a Whataburger anytime soon? We asked

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - After Whataburger opened the first in a wave of Atlanta-area locations this week, some Augusta residents got hungry.

Once known for tin-roof A-frame buildings, the chain has a loyal following – one perhaps rivaling the West Coast’s In-N-Out Burger.

Whataburger said the store that opened in Kennesaw is the first of more than 10 planned in the Atlanta area over the next year.

That’ll be followed by 50 – yes, 50 – in the Atlanta area alone over the next seven years.

That should put metro Atlanta among the chain’s top markets.

Even in Houston, just up the Gulf Coast from Whataburger’s birthplace of Corpus Christi and with a million more people than Atlanta, we could only count about half the number planned for Atlanta.

While the Kennesaw eatery isn’t Whataburger’s first in Georgia (there was already one in Thomasville), this is a big move eastward for the company.

Many longtime Augustans may remember an East Coast burger chain with a similar name: What-A-Burger. That was a whole different company, and the two chains only learned of each other years after they were both in operation.

There are still some What-A-Burgers in North Carolina. And there’s an eatery by that same name in West Columbia, S.C.

Long ago, there were at least two What-A-Burgers in the Augusta area, according to local residents in the know.

But the big question for local fans is this: Will the hyphenless Whataburger be coming to Augusta anytime soon?

We asked the company, and got this enigmatic response:

“We’re thrilled to hear we have some enthusiastic fans in the Augusta area but don’t have any specific plans to share today.”

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