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Earlier this summer, the Texas chain opened its first North Carolina restaurant in Gastonia.

HICKORY, N.C. — Less than a month after beloved Texas chain restaurant Whataburger opened its first North Carolina location in Gastonia, another location is set to open roughly 37 miles north of it.

Whataburger said it's ready to open the doors on its latest location, located at 2060 US Highway 70 Southeast in Hickory. A celebration is set for Thursday, June 26, kicking off at 9 a.m. The first two guests in both the drive-thru and the dining room will score a Whataburger Gift Box for a Year, featuring branded tumblers, sunglasses, socks, and lots of Spicy and Fancy Ketchup. The first 100 guests in line will also get their own swag bags filled with merchandise.

The celebration continues at noon with the Summer WhataBash, featuring music from a live DJ, a photo booth, face painting, and games for kids. There will also be prize giveaways, including a chance to win tickets to upcoming Hickory Crawdads games. Whataburger's superhero mascot, Whataguy, will be on hand for photos and high-fives.

The Texas chain's first restaurant in the Tar Heel State opened on May 29 along East Franklin Boulevard in Gastonia. There are still eight more locations in and around North Carolina set to open through 2025. The next ones in the Charlotte area include a location at 12935 Albemarle Road in Charlotte and 8574 Charlotte Highway in Indian Land, South Carolina. Both are set to open sometime later in the summer. A location at 604 River Highway in Mooresville will also open sometime later in 2025, although an exact date is not yet set.

The remaining locations in North Carolina will be in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Archdale, High Point, and Kernersville.

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Around 150,000 people will pack Bank of America Stadium on Friday and Saturday night to watch the Savannah Bananas. Thousands of others couldn’t find or afford tickets, which are going for hundreds of dollars on resale sites.

At the center of it all will be Gaston County resident and team owner Jesse Cole. He’ll be the tall, skinny guy in the yellow tuxedo, complete with top hat. It’s a trademark now, a way to stand out, that Cole adopted more than a decade ago before there ever was a Savannah Banana.

Cole’s entrepreneurial story starts in Gastonia in 2008. At age 23, he was the new general manager of the Gastonia Grizzlies, a collegiate summer league baseball team that was floundering.

He wasn’t dreaming yet of selling out stadiums from Anaheim, California, to Miami in what he calls “the greatest show in sports.”

“That would’ve been impossible,” he says. “The Gastonia team was failing. There were only a couple of hundred fans coming to the games. I had $268 in my bank account, so it was just about trying to find a way to make it successful and to get people to come to the games.”

Baseball alone wasn’t enough, says Cole. He found inspiration in his heroes, P.T. Barnum and Walt Disney. “We saw a better way.”

Cole started wearing the yellow tuxedo everywhere. The college guys still played baseball, but in the stands, fans were taking part in blindfolded pillow fights, kids were smashing pies in their dads’ faces and toddlers were racing turtles between innings while munching on garbage lid nachos and burgers with Krispy Kreme buns.

The rest is history. Cole’s “Fans First” mantra would become “Banana Ball.” The Bananas still play baseball, and he bristles at comparisons with basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters. Games aren’t scripted and outcomes against the opposing teams — the Party Animals, the Texas Tailgaters or the Firefighters — are not pre-determined. He says each game has between 10 and 15 new narratives or trick plays.

People pay attention to what’s going on in the field, but he and others are roaming the stands to engage fans all the way to the upper deck, he says. Cole says his mistakes have led him to sell out Bank of America Stadium, where the NFL’s Carolina Panthers play.

“Failure is just one step to getting better. Those failures just help us get to the next step, to get back up and swing,” he says.

Cole travels around the country, but calls Belmont home. He and his wife, Emily, became foster parents in Gaston County in 2020 during the pandemic, eventually adopting two children they fostered. They continue to be licensed foster parents in Gaston County, providing respite services. It started when Emily discovered there are 400,000 children in this country without a permanent home and has led to the nonprofit Bananas Foster, which raises awareness.

Foster families are a part of every Savannah Banana event. “It’s about bringing people together and bringing families together,” he says.

As for scaling his business, the Bananas and their affiliate teams will put on more than 100 shows this year. Next year, they’ll do even more and begin a Bananas’ League. He doesn’t want to talk about money, saying it’s not a part of his focus.

“We’re not interested in being a billion-dollar company, we want to create a billion fans,” he says. “I mean, we’re serving 2.2 million fans this year, so literally 2.2 million fans are buying tickets. How can we serve 3 million next year?

“If we take care of the fans, the revenue takes care of itself.”

The interview ends with a negative question. I ask Cole if he ever thought he’d be selling out Bank of America Stadium after trying to sell tickets at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, a 1950-era ballpark where fans had to avoid pigeon droppings that often covered the bleachers. He doesn’t take the bait.

“I don’t remember anything like that,” Cole shoots back. “I remember the Flatulent Fun Night. I remember the Dig to China Night. I remember Midnight Madness. I remember the Grandma Beauty Pageant.

“I don’t remember anything with the pigeon poop. That must’ve been before my time.”

LOCAL

Gaston Gazette

Gastonia’s wait for Whataburger is almost over.

The iconic restaurant chain has announced the opening date for the first North Carolina location.

The new restaurant, at 3415 E Franklin Blvd., will open at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 29.

“Once doors open in May, Charlotte-area locals can treat themselves to Whataburger’s signature fresh, never-frozen beef patties, 5-inch buns, and craveworthy classics like the Patty Melt and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit – always made-to-order and fully customizable,” the company said in a press release Thursday.

What began as a small burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas, has grown into a family of more than 1,100 restaurants — now branching into its 17th state.

The grand opening marks the company’s 75th anniversary year.

“For 75 years, Whataburger has grown from a single burger stand into a brand folks love across the country — but our heart has always stayed right where it belongs: in local communities just like Gastonia," said Debbie Stroud, Whataburger president and chief executive officer. "As someone who lived for years in North Carolina, finally opening our doors here feels like coming home. We’re excited to start making memories together — first bites, first jobs, first dates.”

Whataburger will open a total of nine restaurants in North Carolina and one just over the border into South Carolina through 2025. The following nine locations will open their doors later this year:

Fans that are hungry for more can get their Whataburger fix 24/7 — whether they swing through the drive-thru, order online, or tap into the Whataburger App. Guests who download the app and create an account automatically earn a free Whataburger and start earning points to spend toward their go-to favorites.

The Legendary Burger Chain Makes Its Long Awaited Debut in the Tar Heel State

The wait is over, North Carolina! The Lone Star legend is making its long-awaited Tar Heel debut. After years of anticipation, the iconic burger brand is opening its very first North Carolina location on May 29 at 9 a.m. in Gastonia at 3415 E Franklin Blvd., serving up bold flavors the Whataburger way.

In 1950, our founder, Harmon Dobson, began serving burgers so big that you had to hold it with two hands and it would make you say “Whataburger!” What began as a small burger stand in Corpus Christi, Texas, has grown into a family of more than 1,100 restaurants—now proudly serving our 17th state with the opening of our newest location in Gastonia. This grand opening is one more exciting moment in a full year of celebrations for Whataburger’s 75th anniversary year.

Once doors open in May, Charlotte-area locals can treat themselves to Whataburger’s signature fresh, never-frozen beef patties, 5-inch buns, and craveworthy classics like the Patty Melt and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit – always made-to-order and fully customizable. Beyond serving great food, Whataburger is committed to making a meaningful impact in the communities they call home, creating jobs, supporting local organizations, and building strong relationships with their new neighbors.

“For 75 years, Whataburger has grown from a single burger stand into a brand folks love across the country—but our heart has always stayed right where it belongs: in local communities just like Gastonia," said Debbie Stroud, Whataburger president and chief executive officer. "As someone who lived for years in North Carolina, finally opening our doors here feels like coming home. We’re excited to start making memories together—first bites, first jobs, first dates—and to deliver the Whataburger experience that keeps fans coming back: hot, fresh, and made Just Like You Like It.”

Whataburger will open a total of 10 restaurants in North Carolina through 2025, spreading Goodness 24/7 statewide. The following nine locations will open their doors later this year:

Fans that are hungry for more can get their Whataburger fix 24/7—whether they swing through the drive-thru, order online, or tap into the Whataburger App. Guests who download the app and create an account automatically earn a free Whataburger and start earning points to spend toward their go-to favorites.

Whataburger is celebrating their 75th anniversary all year long with 75 stories from their fan and Family Member communities – and invites everyone to join in the Whatacelebration! To keep up with Whataburger’s future openings and news, visit www.Whataburger.com.

Whataburger serves up Goodness 24/7 with a made-to-order, customizable menu of burgers and other favorites delivered just like you like it. Born in Texas and headquartered in San Antonio, we’re celebrating 75 flavorful years of big bites, bold flavors, and even bigger fan love. We’ve grown to over 1,100 restaurants across 16 states, with original-recipe products now found in grocery aisles across the country. Our secret sauce (besides that Fancy Ketchup) is our Family Members—real people serving up real hospitality and meaningful connections in the communities we call home. We’ve landed on Fast Company’s Brands that Matter list, USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and Newsweek’s America’s Best of the Best. To learn more, shop the Whatastore, or find your nearest location, visit Whataburger.com—or download our app on iOS or Android. Hungry for more? Discover what keeps fans coming back by diving into real stories from Whataburger super fans at stories.whataburger.com.