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The Importance of Whataburger to Texans: What’s the Big Deal?

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Tony Maples Photography

 

The Importance of Whataburger to Texans: What’s the Big Deal?

Photo: Facebook/Whataburger

Without a doubt, many of our greatest moments have started or been celebrated at a local Whataburger location. “It’s where we gathered up the nerve to ask our best girls to go steady after a night out dancing,” Cruz continued. “We fought our high school rivals in epic parking lot battles. It’s where we’d show off the latest work we’d done to our cars or the new lifts on our trucks. It’s where we’d meet to lay down the terms of street races and settle-up after. It’s where we would swap stories and sometimes trade punches. It’s where we would return each Thanksgiving and Christmas break from college, on leave from the service, or when we returned from combat,” he noted. “We learned of hookups, breakups, marriages, births and sadly, sometimes the passing of a friend, in the glow of that angular white and orange sign.”

The Importance of Whataburger to Texans: What’s the Big Deal?

Photo: Instagram/reverieinvoid

It’s true. For some, the news that this franchise has sold a majority share to a Chicago-based bank in the name of expansion is just business. For others, it’s like the opening of a wound. The fear that with each step forward, the potential that the Whataburger we know and love will cease to exist is like the lifeblood seeping out of our traditions. Turning to social media to express that fear, in whatever fashion they see fit, is the only form of tourniquet its Texas fans can fashion. “Whataburger wasn’t just another burger joint to us,” Cruz explained. “For many of us, Whataburger was our informal town hall. It was our touchstone and our reminder that no matter where we were in the state, we always had someplace uniquely Texan to come home to.” Will Whataburger progress as the Texas icon it’s become, expanding in new markets while maintaining its Lone Star spirit, founding, and guiding service principles? That remains to be seen. What has been seen, and what continues to be witnessed, are expressions of familiarity, hope, and love (honestly) for this unique burger chain And that’s the importance of Whataburger to Texans.

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