Whataburger’s values have always been to provide love, care, and pride. What started as a small burger stand in Corpus Christi became a beloved store for all Texans and Southerners to enjoy. The franchise now welcomes a new location on the main road into Canyon.

From humble beginnings comes the store’s operating manager, Cynthia Rodriguez. Rodriguez started as a manager and has been with Whataburger for 9 months. 

She was inspired by her daughter who worked for the company 10 years earlier. Rodriguez was drawn in by her daughter’s love of the store and how positive the environment sounded. 

“She is the one that told me how Whataburger works as a team, how they have all these tools and resources, scholarships, paid time off, benefits and the opportunity to grow.” 

After the pandemic hit in 2020, Rodriguez was sick and decided she didn’t want to be a manager at her previous company anymore. The experience grounded her and gave her clarity. That’s when she decided to work for Whataburger. 

“My daughter was happy when she came to work for Whataburger, and I wanted to be that person,” Rodriguez said. “When I got hired, I started seeing how the dynamic works, how everybody works together, and how the managers empower the opportunity to grow, they don’t want to pass up the opportunity to see you at another level. And that, to me, is very rewarding, because not many brands do that.” 

Rodriguez’s background is in marketing and making commercials in Spanish. In April, just a few weeks into her training, it was brought up that there would be a new store. Rodriguez was then asked if she was interested in running it. 

“I was very scared because Whataburger is a 24-hour operation,” Rodriguez said.  “It’s open 364 days a year, and it’s another world. The orange stripe scared me.” Rodriguez has since channeled the nervousness into excitement.

Going into opening day, Rodriguez understands it will be hard, but believes her team will conquer all. The Whataburger brand has been known for being slow because they make each item to order, especially products like hot apple pies and onion rings. With this knowledge, Rodriguez wants to change how people perceive the store, and together, her team has set expectations to be fast, fresh, and friendly. 

“So what I’ve told my team is that we’re going to change that by being aware, by always working as a team, and by always being aware of the customer’s needs,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t know if they [the customer] are on a break, if they’re just passing through, or if it’s an emergency. But the goal is to serve them fast, fresh, and friendly.” 

This past Saturday was a learning experience where the team had dry runs. Dry runs are when the managers go through the drive-thru, act like customers, and have the family members practice taking orders and making food.  Rodriguez described the experience as being a proud mother watching her baby grow. 

“I just saw all of them start walking instead of crawling, and they became a team,” Rodriguez said. “All of the leaders were so happy with the results. They’ve all graduated and now I can push them out into the world.” 

Rodriguez said she felt fortunate to have trainers from different states and cities come and help prepare her team. While some of the team members have been lucky to train at other locations, close to 75% of the team have been practicing for only two weeks. 

Whataburger will ease into the process by first opening the drive-thru at 11 am. They plan to make an assessment every hour on whether or not to open the lobby to keep customers flowing through promptly. A cool feature to notice is that there are 2 drive-thru lanes to help as many customers as possible. Rodriguez’s main focus is to keep the guests happy and ensure everyone has a great experience. “We want to make sure that we can serve everyone and no one goes without great service and great food. That’s the point of opening the drive-thru first.” 

“Since its announcement on July 29th, everyone has been waiting for us, and watching us. September 10 is finally here,” Rodriguez said. “I am very excited. I’m happy. I’m ready to get it over with and just become the new place in Canyon, where everybody can come and hang out and receive a friendly smile, a fresh hot meal, and in a timely manner.” 

Starting at 11 a.m. Whataburger will be live and open 24 hours a day and 364 days a year, excluding Christmas day. On opening day everyone can expect to see the Whataguy cheering and welcoming customers in. 

At Whataburger, you can expect fast, fresh food. They make each burger to order and have a variety of limited-time offers throughout the year. From the customer favorite Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich to the Dr. Pepper shake and a new creation called the Nashville Hot Whatawings. 

Customers can download the Whataburger app to start scanning codes for points. Points go towards rewards like free burgers, shakes and onion rings. The app can also be used to place orders that are available for pickup or delivery. Online orders can be placed starting the third week of September.