Chicago investment firm buys majority stake in Whataburger -

[tehpope]

Chicago investment firm buys majority stake in Texas' iconic Whataburger chain

Whataburger said Friday that the purchase by BDT Capital Partners should be finalized by the end of the summer. It will be subject to regulatory review.

www.chicagotribune.com

A Chicago investment firm has purchased a majority stake in Whataburger as the Texas-based fast-food company seeks to expand in an increasingly competitive market.
Whataburger announced Friday that the purchase by Chicago-based BDT Capital Partners should be finalized by the end of the summer and will be subject to regulatory overview. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
BDT, led by Byron Trott, will provide long-term capital and guidance as Whataburger, which has its headquarters in San Antonio, competes at a time when convenience stores are offering more food options and eating into market share.
The firm often invests in family-owned companies.

The first Whataburger opened in 1950 as a small roadside burger stand in Corpus Christi. It now has nearly 700 restaurants in Texas and more than 150 others in southern states extending from Arizona to Florida.

Whataburger is hella good. I hope they don't change shit when they expand.

 

[SiccDicc]

How will Texas ever recover?!

 

[The Pink Panther]

Whataburger is okay. Five Guys is infinite life.

Whataburger expanding is the equivalency of Quiznos trying to outdo Subway's.

 

[DuckSucker]

I remember honey butter chicken biscuit being the thing we got at like 3 AM in college.

It's not the same market as In N Out or the other "burger joint" chains like Five Guys or Shake Shack, or even Freddy's which is less common--like you arent gonna get a burger and a milkshake there; it's more in competition with "regular" fast food chains (McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys) where youre just getting a fast food burger, chicken nuggets, shit like that, but I would say it's better than most. Its not the cult following of other "local chains" like In N Out but it does have a sort of cult following. I would say about the same type of cult following Chick Fil A has.

They do the thing where they give you gravy and Texas toast with your tendie basket which I like way more than other fast food places, they better not change that. Fuck ketchup and whatever other dumb sauces other places try to say go with it, gravy is the superior fried chicken/biscuit topping. Or dip your fries and toast in, too.

I imagine what they probably will do is expand advertising and start trying to market specialty promotional burgers or something like the other big 3 fast food chains do (They sometimes offer a Texas toast burger, or maybe always do, like Sonic. Those are really heavy and kinda messy, but that could be a unique thing for them over the big 3). If they're smart they'll also mostly expand east into more of the south and colloquial "midwest" mostly, maybe that would be a bad move though since there's so much other competition for that same food there, though; Im not a businessman. But youre right I dont think they have much of a chance of competition in places where Five Guys and In N Out and the like have already gotten.

 

[Y2K Baby]

Whataburger is okay. Five Guys is infinite life.

Whataburger expanding is the equivalency of Quiznos trying to outdo Subway's.

You're fucking stupid.

 

[The Pink Panther]

You're fucking stupid.

No I'm not. Five Guys is way better than Whataburger.

 

[Y2K Baby]

No I'm not. Five Guys is way better than Whataburger.

You're a dumb nigger. It's also pricier- they are completely different markets. Whataburger could easily expand because its competition isn't just McDonald's and Five Guys, it's DQ, Sonic, and Jack In The Box.

Five Guys cucks, I swear.

 

[Marissa Moira]

I really hope the other deal with bain capital to buy the majority share of In and Out goes through.

 

[The Pink Panther]

You're a dumb nigger. It's also pricier- they are completely different markets. Whataburger could easily expand because its competition isn't just McDonald's and Five Guys, it's DQ, Sonic, and Jack In The Box.

Five Guys cucks, I swear.

If it's pricier, then that means the demand for it is higher, thus the quality that is presented is probably higher. They sell at a high cost, because it's the good shit, not the processed shit.


Economics 101.

 

[millais]

They're pretty decent. I like that they occasionally mail out good coupon deals and the size of the sandwiches is very generous for the price. Even the patties are dwarfing those of any other drive-thru type fastfood hamburger place.

 

[Rei is shit]

Ironically there is no whataburger in chicago.

 

[DuckSucker]

If it's pricier, then that means the demand for it is higher, thus the quality that is presented is probably higher. They sell at a high cost, because it's the good shit, not the processed shit.


Economics 101.

It's not fast food though, it's a "fast casual" burger joint and as far as those go, it's pretty shit. People consider it fast food because the quality isnt that much better than regular fast food, compared to other burger joint restaurants, and especially compared to local burger joint restaurants. People think it's "fast food" because it's just theyve probably only eaten at Five Guys for their first time experiencing a "burger joint" type of chain restaurant where that's all they do, because Five Guys expanded fast when they saw that market--and people think its the same as all the other places that sell burgers that they know of, which are fast food burger places and probably only the major 3. Theyre like Fuddruckers tier, just they put it together and offer "specialty" burgers.

Youre paying more and youre waiting a bit longer, the quality isnt that much better, the pretense is there and they just make it look nicer. Fast food is like, drive thru shit, Whataburger is like close to the top, if not the top of the list of actual fast food "1-4 minute turnaround" sort of 5-dollar meal restaurants. Fast food is usually a thin patty so it can cook fast and theyre trying to keep prices down, and have a wider variety of foods; burger joints give you a thicker, smaller (maybe not by weight) burger that is cooked a little better and prepared with more ingredients and they focus exclusively on burgers or "______ sandwiches".

Five Guys is expensive for the quality you get because theyre putting a peanut tax on there, while other fast casual burger joint restaurants have a burger that is twice as good as Five Guys for the same price but they didnt focus on sacrificing quality to become a chain so fast.

Five Guys is like 8 dollars for a burger then another 2 for fries plus tax. I have a local place that just destroys the fuck out of Five Guys and makes them taste like some generic ass plain McDonalds burger where you dont even taste the beef, and theyre 9 dollars after tax for a thick ass smoky tasting bacon, thick ass cheeseburger with fries, and the fries are better than Five Guys. The vegetables could be better and they use a sweeter, softer brioche so it gets messy, but honestly it's so good because of how beefy it tastes, and the bacon is genuinely thick cut, generously applied, and that's most of what you want to taste when eating a bacon cheeseburger. They only have two locations though, and I think it helps keep their quality in check.

 

[sadbird]

If it's pricier, then that means the demand for it is higher, thus the quality that is presented is probably higher. They sell at a high cost, because it's the good shit, not the processed shit.


Economics 101.

I think they're terrible because their burgers are middling, overpriced and they have the worst fries known to man. A disgrace to burger joints. Very sad.

 

[The Shadow]

No I'm not. Five Guys is way better than Whataburger.

Five Guys is an expensive greasebomb. FFS Checkers makes a better burger and fries for half the price.

 

[Terminus Est]

Ironically there is no whataburger in chicago.

But they do have a lot Whataniggers. With a lot of Drive-by drive thru's,

 

[The Pink Panther]

It's not fast food though, it's a "fast casual" burger joint and as far as those go, it's pretty shit. People consider it fast food because the quality isnt that much better than regular fast food, compared to other burger joint restaurants, and especially compared to local burger joint restaurants. People think it's "fast food" because it's just theyve probably only eaten at Five Guys for their first time experiencing a "burger joint" type of chain restaurant where that's all they do, because Five Guys expanded fast when they saw that market--and people think its the same as all the other places that sell burgers that they know of, which are fast food burger places and probably only the major 3. Theyre like Fuddruckers tier, just they put it together and offer "specialty" burgers.

Youre paying more and youre waiting a bit longer, the quality isnt that much better, the pretense is there and they just make it look nicer. Fast food is like, drive thru shit, Whataburger is like close to the top, if not the top of the list of actual fast food "1-4 minute turnaround" sort of 5-dollar meal restaurants. Fast food is usually a thin patty so it can cook fast and theyre trying to keep prices down, and have a wider variety of foods; burger joints give you a thicker, smaller (maybe not by weight) burger that is cooked a little better and prepared with more ingredients and they focus exclusively on burgers or "______ sandwiches".

Five Guys is expensive for the quality you get because theyre putting a peanut tax on there, while other fast casual burger joint restaurants have a burger that is twice as good as Five Guys for the same price but they didnt focus on sacrificing quality to become a chain so fast.

Five Guys is like 8 dollars for a burger then another 2 for fries plus tax. I have a local place that just destroys the fuck out of Five Guys and makes them taste like some generic ass plain McDonalds burger where you dont even taste the beef, and theyre 9 dollars after tax for a thick ass smoky tasting bacon, thick ass cheeseburger with fries, and the fries are better than Five Guys. The vegetables could be better and they use a sweeter, softer brioche so it gets messy, but honestly it's so good because of how beefy it tastes, and the bacon is genuinely thick cut, generously applied, and that's most of what you want to taste when eating a bacon cheeseburger. They only have two locations though, and I think it helps keep their quality in check.

I think they're terrible because their burgers are middling, overpriced and they have the worst fries known to man. A disgrace to burger joints. Very sad.

Five Guys is an expensive greasebomb. FFS Checkers makes a better burger and fries for half the price.

They are pretty expensive, and I do realize the appeal of it not being fast food and more of it being a casual sitout restaurant, thus explaining why the prices are big, but maybe I just have different taste, but I like Five Guys.

I like how they cook everything with peanut oil, which gives it the nutty flavor of the meals, I think the fries are not too salty (unlike Wendy's) and not too bland either, and I like the delicate cut of potato each of them have, and I like the convenience of their menu (you could choose your toppings, there's denominations of cheeseburgers and hamburgers (instead of always asking any fast food joint to hold the cheese), and I do like the design of the restaurant. With the peanuts and all, it looks like a circus. I understand all of your grievances with them, but I humbly pronounce myself as a Five Guys Cuck that sucks their dick until their fries are cut dry.

 

[sadbird]

They are pretty expensive, and I do realize the appeal of it not being fast food and more of it being a casual sitout restaurant, thus explaining why the prices are big, but maybe I just have different taste, but I like Five Guys.

I like how they cook everything with peanut oil, which gives it the nutty flavor of the meals, I think the fries are not too salty (unlike Wendy's) and not too bland either, and I like the delicate cut of potato each of them have, and I like the convenience of their menu (you could choose your toppings, there's denominations of cheeseburgers and hamburgers (instead of always asking any fast food joint to hold the cheese), and I do like the design of the restaurant. With the peanuts and all, it looks like a circus. I understand all of your grievances with them, but I humbly pronounce myself as a Five Guys Cuck that sucks their dick until their fries are cut dry.

yeah I don't know what fries you ate. everytime I got fries there it was a saltbomb which dried them out to little hardened sticks. It's no wonder every time I walked by the place was completely empty. But it's okay my dude some people just love the taste of semen that's why we have a whole month for it.

 

[AF 802]

No I'm not. Five Guys is way better than Whataburger.

Fuck you. Whataburger's the only reason I'd move to Texas, that shit is great. Had it several times when I've been down to the central Texas area.

 

[PL 001]

Can't we have a compromise? Both Whataburger and Five Guys are better than In-N-Out and their dickriding fans.

 

[ConfederateIrishman]

Five Guys makes me sad; I remember years ago when I was visiting relatives in Alexandria, VA going to Five Guys and finding the burgers delicious

When I heard Five Guys had become a chain restraunt, I was happy at first, but then to my horror I found the quality had significantly dropped. The burgers were not bad and even still OK, but they were no longer great.