AlamoSpursFan
11-22-2008, 02:50 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.co/news/An_icon_of_Corpus_heading_for_SA.html
By Creighton A. Welch - Express-News
What a surprise.
Whataburger, the iconic burger chain that has been a Corpus Christi institution since 1950, is moving to San Antonio.
The restaurant company — with staples such as the Whatachick'n, taquitos and the plain ol' Whataburger — announced Friday that it's leaving the coastal community and moving its headquarters to the Alamo City.
“This was a very difficult and emotional decision for us. Corpus Christi, the Dobson family and Whataburger have grown together over the last 58 years and we're immensely grateful for the city of Corpus Christi and the community here that has helped us become who we are today,” Tom Dobson, Whataburger Restaurants LP chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
A testament to the chain's connection to Corpus Christi, a life-size statue of Dobson's father and restaurant founder, Harmon Dobson, stands in front of the “Whataburger by the Bay” flagship restaurant in the city.
What started as a roadside hamburger stand where you could buy a burger for a quarter has blossomed into a $1 billion regional burger powerhouse with more than 700 locations in 10 states.
About 250 employees will be asked to make the move, which likely will begin sometime in early 2009. Whataburger has more than 21,000 employees.
For diehard Whataburger fans, the move shouldn't have any effect on getting your daily fix of Justaburgers and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits. It will be business as usual for the company, said Pam Cox, corporate communications director.
The current headquarters in Corpus Christi will remain open indefinitely to help smooth the transition, Cox said. The company still is looking for space for the headquarters in San Antonio.
“We regret the loss of such an important landmark in Corpus Christi and will have to work hard to fill such a large void,” said Joe Cisneros, vice president of existing industry for the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp., and a Whataburger fan himself. “Any time I travel, it's the first place I go when I come back.”
San Antonio's proximity to the states Whataburger serves and the city's airport played a role in the company's decision.
“San Antonio is a very centrally located city to those states and we felt like it would be a good place for us to travel in and out of,” Cox said. “We liked the fact that we'd be moving further inland and away from the coast and the threat of hurricanes.”
This isn't the first time San Antonio has snagged a company from Corpus Christi.
H-E-B moved its headquarters to San Antonio from Corpus Christi in 1985, nine years after namesake founder Howard E. Butt died and as the company began to expand aggressively in Texas under Charles Butt.
H-E-B moved to the old downtown military buildings, dating to the 1800s, known as the Arsenal.
Corpus Christi earlier lost another headquarters to San Antonio in 1980 when Lo-Vaca Gathering Co., a natural gas distributor, was spun off from Houston-based Coastal Corp.
San Antonio won the right to become the new home to Lo-Vaca Gathering, which was renamed Valero Energy Corp., in a lawsuit settlement. San Antonio was the largest city among numerous municipalities that had sued Coastal — then headed by its notorious chairman Oscar Wyatt — for breach of contract on natural gas prices.
Business Writer David Hendricks contributed to this report.
By Creighton A. Welch - Express-News
What a surprise.
Whataburger, the iconic burger chain that has been a Corpus Christi institution since 1950, is moving to San Antonio.
The restaurant company — with staples such as the Whatachick'n, taquitos and the plain ol' Whataburger — announced Friday that it's leaving the coastal community and moving its headquarters to the Alamo City.
“This was a very difficult and emotional decision for us. Corpus Christi, the Dobson family and Whataburger have grown together over the last 58 years and we're immensely grateful for the city of Corpus Christi and the community here that has helped us become who we are today,” Tom Dobson, Whataburger Restaurants LP chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
A testament to the chain's connection to Corpus Christi, a life-size statue of Dobson's father and restaurant founder, Harmon Dobson, stands in front of the “Whataburger by the Bay” flagship restaurant in the city.
What started as a roadside hamburger stand where you could buy a burger for a quarter has blossomed into a $1 billion regional burger powerhouse with more than 700 locations in 10 states.
About 250 employees will be asked to make the move, which likely will begin sometime in early 2009. Whataburger has more than 21,000 employees.
For diehard Whataburger fans, the move shouldn't have any effect on getting your daily fix of Justaburgers and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits. It will be business as usual for the company, said Pam Cox, corporate communications director.
The current headquarters in Corpus Christi will remain open indefinitely to help smooth the transition, Cox said. The company still is looking for space for the headquarters in San Antonio.
“We regret the loss of such an important landmark in Corpus Christi and will have to work hard to fill such a large void,” said Joe Cisneros, vice president of existing industry for the Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corp., and a Whataburger fan himself. “Any time I travel, it's the first place I go when I come back.”
San Antonio's proximity to the states Whataburger serves and the city's airport played a role in the company's decision.
“San Antonio is a very centrally located city to those states and we felt like it would be a good place for us to travel in and out of,” Cox said. “We liked the fact that we'd be moving further inland and away from the coast and the threat of hurricanes.”
This isn't the first time San Antonio has snagged a company from Corpus Christi.
H-E-B moved its headquarters to San Antonio from Corpus Christi in 1985, nine years after namesake founder Howard E. Butt died and as the company began to expand aggressively in Texas under Charles Butt.
H-E-B moved to the old downtown military buildings, dating to the 1800s, known as the Arsenal.
Corpus Christi earlier lost another headquarters to San Antonio in 1980 when Lo-Vaca Gathering Co., a natural gas distributor, was spun off from Houston-based Coastal Corp.
San Antonio won the right to become the new home to Lo-Vaca Gathering, which was renamed Valero Energy Corp., in a lawsuit settlement. San Antonio was the largest city among numerous municipalities that had sued Coastal — then headed by its notorious chairman Oscar Wyatt — for breach of contract on natural gas prices.
Business Writer David Hendricks contributed to this report.