Whataburger is preparing to open its first Southwest Florida restaurant in south Fort Myers in early September, with a second location in Estero expected to follow by the end of October.
David Dorsey
The wait for Whataburger in Southwest Florida is almost over.
The San Antonio-headquartered, 24-hour-a-day burger restaurant has an in-house, tentative opening date. Whataburger Senior Field marketing and Events Manager Juan Valenzuela wasn’t ready to reveal it to the public yet in case complications arise, but he said “early September.”
The restaurant will have a capacity of 86 customers and is located at 12916 S. Cleveland Ave. in south Fort Myers, just north of Mission BBQ. The building previously housed an Aussie Grill and Boston Market, with Whataburger having completed extensive remodeling.
This will be the fifth new Whataburger to open in Florida this year, Valenzuela said, following one near the University of Central Florida in Orlando and three in the Tampa Bay area.
Estero is up next, with Southwest Florida’s second Whataburger expected to open by the end of October, Valenzuela said. Renovations are being completed at what used to be a Pollo Tropical at 22927 Lyden Drive, across from Coconut Point mall.
Whataburger is preparing to open its first Southwest Florida location at 12916 S. Cleveland Ave. in south Fort Myers in early September. A second area restaurant is expected to open in Estero by the end of October.
David Dorsey
Although burgers are the forte, Whataburger also has an extensive chicken and breakfast menu.
“Fort Myers, we follow where our fans are,” Valenzuela said. “And we’ve been hearing from the fans here in Southwest Florida for a while. And so, we finally decided to include this as part of our central Florida expansion.”
Greg Dunn, who had been managing a Whataburger in Jacksonville for the previous nine months and has more than 20 years of restaurant management experience, will lead a staff of 121 employees to launch the south Fort Myers location.
“I can’t wait to meet our patrons and serve them,” Dunn said. “Honestly, I knew nothing about Fort Myers. From what I’ve heard, there are so many people who want Whataburger. They didn’t have to twist my arm at all.”
Dunn said he has enjoyed building his team.
“We’re a family brand,” Dunn said. “We are very welcoming to everyone. It’s about creating that home feeling.”
Juan Valenzuela, Whataburger senior field marketing and events manager, stands inside the chain’s new south Fort Myers restaurant. The 24-hour location is expected to open in early September.
David Dorsey
Valenzuela said he expected lines out the door on launch day.
“We will have some people camping out,” Valenzuela said. The first two in line will win free burgers for a year, and the first 100 people in line will come away with a swag bag.
Everything at Whataburger is made to order, he said, so the restaurant has to find the line between fast food and fast casual. He said there are no frozen pucks of beef waiting to thaw under a heated lamp at Whataburger.
“We do want to get it out to you fresh, and we do want to get it out to you expeditiously,” Valenzuela said. “We know your time is valuable, and we know you took some time to choose us. So, we want to make sure we get you what you want, when you want it.”