The First Miami Whataburger Could Be on the Way. What to Know.

The new building prototype of Whataburger restaurants Whataburger photo

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Is Whataburger on its way to Miami? According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the answer is most likely yes.

According to the media outlet, Whataburger, the Texas-based fast-food chain with a cult following, is opening locations across the Tampa Bay area in 2026 and will continue heading south with a location in Miami in the future.

The company announced the news during a food truck event held in downtown Tampa on Friday, August 9. Although no exact opening dates or locations were disclosed at the event, the company promised news outlet Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the "new locations [in the Tampa Bay region] will bring the classic Whataburger menu to Florida while creating job opportunities and partnerships within the community."

The chain closed its original central Florida locations back in 2009.

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The "Whataburger Whatameal"

Whataburger photo

CEO Ed Nelson spoke with the Tampa Bay Business Journal at the event, disclosing that a recent Whataburger investment "set the stage for its re-entrance into the Tampa market and elsewhere in Florida." Plus, the chain's experience in Florida in the 2000s "has him feeling optimistic."

This investment? A meat processing plant in Georgia that opened in 2023.

Nelson told the publication, "The company would consider a franchisee as it makes its way south into Miami."

Whataburger currently has 45 locations in Florida, but they are concentrated in Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Panama City Beach, and the Florida Panhandle.

Up until now, there have been no locations south of Gainesville, but the news of its Tampa Bay expansion has already stirred speculation that Whataburger is planning its expansion through the central and southern portions of the state, including Orlando and ultimately Miami.

Today, there are more than 1,030 Whataburger franchises across 16 states, including Florida.