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Tuesday, May. 4, 1999

Whataburger by the Bay set to open Thursday

Flagship restaurant to feature new items such as cappuccino, soft-serve ice cream

By JEFFREY TOMICH
Staff Writer

   Nearly half a century after Whataburger founder Harmon Dobson opened his first hamburger stand here, the Corpus Christi-based chain is ready to debut its flagship restaurant on the bayfront.
   Whataburger by the Bay, 201 Shoreline Blvd., will open Thursday.
   At 6,000 square feet, it's Whataburger's largest restaurant. It's the chain's only two-story restaurant and twice the size of the standard new Whataburger location.
   Architecturally, Whataburger by the Bay is a far cry from Dobson's first restaurant housed in a small, portable building on Ayers Street.
   During that span, remarkably little has changed about Whataburger's focus: freshly prepared, made-to-order hamburgers.
   Today, as it nears its 50th anniversary, Whataburger ranks among the nation's top 15 hamburger chains in number of restaurants, sales and market share, according to Nation's Restaurant News, an industry trade publication.
   And while other large corporations such as H-E-B, Omni Hotels and Coastal Corp. have moved their corporate headquarters from Corpus Christi to San Antonio, Dallas and Houston, respectively, Whataburger has stayed put.
   Tim Taft, Whataburger's chief operating officer, said the new restaurant is a tribute to its founder and commitment to Corpus Christi.
   "We could have built it in a busier area," he said. "But if we were going to build a flagship restaurant it was going to be in Corpus Christi. And if it was going to be in Corpus Christi, it was going to be on Shoreline."
   In fact, the Whataburger by the Bay logo on the side of the new restaurant was taken from a 1951 business card that belonged to Harmon Dobson.
   The new structure incorporates Whataburger's trademark A-frame style and orange-and-white roof with more than 1,000 square feet of glass and 800 feet of orange and blue neon trim.
   Upstairs and downstairs seating areas, which included a second-story patio, create an amphitheater effect offering dine-in patrons a panorama of the marina from any seat.
   Just as the restaurant's design mixes old and new, so does the menu. It will feature standards such as burgers, fries and shakes as well as cappuccino, gourmet coffee and soft-serve ice cream.
   Whataburger by the Bay replaces the existing 2,500-square-foot restaurant next door, which will be razed and used for parking.
   On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Staff Writer business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Staff Writer, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Jeffrey Tomich at tomichj@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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  © 1999 Corpus Christi Caller Times, a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.