TAMPA, Fla. — A Whataburger location is coming to Tampa in 2026, restaurant officials said in a news release.
To celebrate the popular Texas-based burger chain's arrival in Tampa, three of the restaurant's top executives are bringing a food truck to Lykes Gaslight Square Park in downtown Tampa to give out free food to the first 150 people in line.
The celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, or until the truck runs out of food, officials confirmed in an email to 10 Tampa Bay.
The exact address for the Tampa location is unknown, but officials told 10 Tampa Bay they will announce that detail sometime in 2025. Also, the exact opening date will reportedly be released soon.
With the new location, officials say Tampa residents can expect the chain's famous burgers made with 100% fresh beef, award-winning french fries, and signature sauces, including fancy ketchup, spicy ketchup, spicy jalapeno ranch, buffalo sauce, and more.
Whataburger currently has 1,030 restaurants across 16 states, chain officials said in the release. Founded on Aug. 8, 1950, by Harmon Dobson in Corpus Christi, the chain's core values center on "serving the highest quality products, treating others with respect, investing in the community and being fiscally responsible," according to Whataburger's official press kit.
Each year, the restaurant reportedly serves:
- 17 million pounds of ketchup
- 350,000 gallons of mustard
- 5 million pounds of onions
- 7 million heads of lettuce
- 11 million pounds of cheese
- 580 million pickle slices
In 2016, Whataburger was included in Business Insider's list of "the 25 Best Fast Food Chains in America."
Whataburger previously had locations in Tampa Bay, Orlando and Ocala and elsewhere but closed following poor performance, according to a Tampa Bay Times article in 2009.
At this time, more than 20 restaurants are in the Sunshine State, including Jacksonville and Tallahassee.
For more information on Whataburger, including its menu, click here.