Do you want to start a restaurant business by buying What-A-Burger franchise? If YES, here is how much it cost to open a What-A-Burger franchise. What-A-Burger is a conglomeration of small restaurants that were established by Jack Branch and Paul E. Branch Jr. and members of the Branch family. The restaurant was founded in 1957. The very first location was set up at a busy intersection near Newport News, Virginia, in the former Warwick County.
How Much It Cost to Open a What-A-Burger Franchise
Currently, it is not known if What-A-Burger offers franchise as its method of expansion. This is because there are not many facts on the What-A-Burger company. But its low-key rival, Whataburger does offer franchise and its franchise requirements are all too evident.
So, for now, if you want to buy the franchise of What-A-Burger, you need to contact the company directly to know their stand on the issue.
What You Must Know About What-A-Burger Franchise
The restaurant kept growing in population that soon enough, they established additional locations in the cities of Richmond, Colonial Heights, and Petersburg, Virginia, each along busy through-traffic highway corridors. Another location was opened by a member of the Branch family in the 1950s in Greenville, South Carolina.
What-A-Burger locations are notable for their large burgers (in comparison with normal fast-food fare). They offer more limited menus than many larger chains. Food is generally cooked to order within sight of waiting customers. You can order either the regular What-a-burger or the What-a-burger with cheese. Ordering it “all the way” comes with mustard, onions, pickles, lettuce and tomato, although you can also add ketchup and mayo, or request grilled onions.
Despite being largely bypassed through traffic using the Interstate Highway System, the Branch family locations in the Richmond-Petersburg and Newport News areas thrived, building a local and loyal following, especially at lunch hours.
What-A-Burger and Whataburger
One crazy fact about this restaurant is that there is a What-A-Burger and there is a Whataburger. Yes, two restaurants answering the same name, almost. So, the What-A-Burger restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina are not to be confused with the much larger Whataburger chain based in Texas.
Harmon Dobson, a different entrepreneur, established a “Whataburger” restaurant in Texas on August 8, 1950. He registered the trademark “Whataburger” in 1957, but the What-A-Burger trademark was registered in 1950.
The companies have been in a lawsuit because of the name issue. A federal trademark infringement lawsuit between the two Virginia corporations in conflict with the Virginia-based corporations (What-A-Burger of Virginia, Inc. and What-A-Burger of Newport News, Inc.) and the chain based in Texas (Whataburger) was decided in 2004.
At the conclusion of the 2003-2004 legal action, the court found that “no actionable damages had occurred” or were likely to for either party and that there is no reasonable public confusion. So they both still kept their very similar names.