What is Wadsworth doing now...

[100%CardsFan]

Opening Whataburgers with Leonard Davis???


Venture a whopper: NFL players team to open 28 Whataburgers
Former Arizona Cardinals defensive end Andre Wadsworth and current Cardinal offensive guard Leonard Davis are part of a team of National Football League players and business executives who are expanding the Texas fast-food chain Whataburger to Florida.


Wadsworth and Davis have joined JWB Ventures, an Austin, Texas, group that signed a franchise agreement with Corpus Christi-based Whataburger Inc. to build 28 units of the burger chain in the Jacksonville, Fla., area.

Whataburger officials say it represents one of the largest franchise agreements in the 53-year history of the chain. The 28 stores will be operated by JWB, which is based in Austin.

The Austin investment group also includes Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell, former Dallas Cowboy Robert Jones and Houston Texan Tony Boselli.

Other investors include Flynn Kile, wife of the late St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile, who also played for the Houston Astros.

Jim Schneider, chief financial officer of Dell Computer Corp., and Jay Bell, one of the founding partners of Dell, also have contributed funding.

Whataburger was launched in Corpus Christi Aug. 8, 1950, by Harmon Dobson, a former bush pilot. The company's footprint now stretches across eight southern and southwestern states, including several stores in Arizona.

The addition of the Jacksonville restaurants will take Whataburger up to more than 600 stores.



© 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.

 

[pinnacle]

I am quite familiar with whataburger..I have done business with them. They sold all of the stores in arizona (they were corporate owned) to a franchisee group -who went broke pretty fast. Corporate took them back and sold them again...guess what - 2nd group went broke and they took them back again..

The company is a family owned deal. Their corporate office was built in about 1960..and nothing has changed. Carpet, fake wood panelling, etc..is all like it was in the early 1960's. The place was so dusty on the interior I thought I needed a mask...I guess they went retro and did not even know it. They have some guy who runs the place (non family member I believe- I think the family just collects checks and has some titles by their name) and the guy who runs the company is a great big dude who played football at Texas AM (I think I got the school right) - not sure when he played - probably in the 1960's or so...so maybe he is their football connection. His office is littered with his football stuff...

I felt like I was in the twilight zone when I was in their offices a few years ago....

One of the largest whataburger franchisees is in El Paso...and the guy who owns it is never there....he is off big game hunting most of the year. He must have had 20 or so huge animals mounted on the walls of his office...were talking serious big game animals.

For whatever reason - I only see stuff like this in Texas (not so much in the big cities - but mostly in smaller markets)....I went to see a company in the Hill Country in Texas about six months ago...and the owner had a life size bronze sculpture of Earl Campbell in his office (in a texas longhorn uniform). It must have cost a fortune...they take this stuff real seriously.

By the way...I do not think Florida will not be a good market for Whataburger...I would not put a $ into it....when you see this many athletes lining up to put $$ in it..I would run for the hills.

 

[100%CardsFan]

Originally posted by pinnacle
I am quite familiar with whataburger..I have done business with them. They sold all of the stores in arizona (they were corporate owned) to a franchisee group -who went broke pretty fast. Corporate took them back and sold them again...guess what - 2nd group went broke and they took them back again..

The company is a family owned deal. Their corporate office was built in about 1960..and nothing has changed. Carpet, fake wood panelling, etc..is all like it was in the early 1960's. The place was so dusty on the interior I thought I needed a mask...I guess they went retro and did not even know it. They have some guy who runs the place (non family member I believe- I think the family just collects checks and has some titles by their name) and the guy who runs the company is a great big dude who played football at Texas AM (I think I got the school right) - not sure when he played - probably in the 1960's or so...so maybe he is their football connection. His office is littered with his football stuff...

I felt like I was in the twilight zone when I was in their offices a few years ago....

One of the largest whataburger franchisees is in El Paso...and the guy who owns it is never there....he is off big game hunting most of the year. He must have had 20 or so huge animals mounted on the walls of his office...were talking serious big game animals.

For whatever reason - I only see stuff like this in Texas (not so much in the big cities - but mostly in smaller markets)....I went to see a company in the Hill Country in Texas about six months ago...and the owner had a life size bronze sculpture of Earl Campbell in his office (in a texas longhorn uniform). It must have cost a fortune...they take this stuff real seriously.

By the way...I do not think Florida will not be a good market for Whataburger...I would not put a $ into it....when you see this many athletes lining up to put $$ in it..I would run for the hills.

WOW, I just like their burgers, I didnt know all of that.

 

[pinnacle]

100% cardfan...way more than you wanted to know...

 

[100%CardsFan]

Any knowledge is great knowledge, and I am being serious. Next time me and my friends are hammered at 3:00am at Whataburger they are going to trip out on me once I start telling them that.

 

[TheCardFan]

Originally posted by pinnacle
By the way...I do not think Florida will not be a good market for Whataburger...I would not put a $ into it....when you see this many athletes lining up to put $$ in it..I would run for the hills.

Are you saying Whataburger won't make it in Florida?

I would have to disagree...good food, served late, hot and made to order...it's a winning combination. I would invest in it.

 

[Jim O]

Originally posted by pinnacle
I am quite familiar with whataburger..I have done business with them.

Me too. I have given them money for food at 3:30am on more than one occasion.

I am going to see if "Big" can hook me up with some coupons!!!

 

[NMCard]

Originally posted by pinnacle



One of the largest whataburger franchisees is in El Paso...and the guy who owns it is never there....he is off big game hunting most of the year. He must have had 20 or so huge animals mounted on the walls of his office...were talking serious big game animals.

Speaking of big game the whatabuger in Roswell, NM is loaded with mounts, mostly elk and mule deer. Its really nice. I wonder if that guy from El Paso has anything to do with it?

 

[cardsunsfan]

It's normally pretty stupid to invest in certain burger chains. It doesn't normally have to do with great food. You have to look at if they are over franchising for instance and if you'll have too much competition from other franchises. Plus you have to look at how much other Fanchises cost. Going into the Restaurant business is generally a no no

You know when Pepsi sold off KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell can't remember the others.... their stock actually went quite a bit up!

Subway for instance, is one of the worst franchises to invest in because they over franchise and for how much they cost it's not worth it. Football players are perfect for this kind of thing though because they're often too stupid to do their research and have a lot of money.

 

[BradMannTX]

I grew up in AZ and now live in Texas...I have eaten at Whataburger more than a dozen times. I have never gotten food there that wasn't dry as a bone. It's awful stuff and EXPENSIVE to boot. Two people can drop 15 bucks easy. And mustard??? WTF? No mayo?? Just that miracle whip crap. Whatisthebigdeal? The only reason I've ever gone there is because it's open 24 hours and it's food. Yuck. I'd take Jack in the Crack anyday.

 

[jf-08]

there are like 3 threads already discussing this. Look in the way back machine.

 

[100%CardsFan]

Originally posted by jkf296
there are like 3 threads already discussing this. Look in the way back machine.

That is twice in one day for me....Dammit, Dammit, Dammit I am so stupid, what was I thinking!!

 

[cardsunsfan]

not really my favorite either, it's damn expensive!

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Breakfast taquitos are freaking incredible at 3AM. Breakfast on a Bun kicks ass as well. And don't forget to ask for texas toast and gravy with your chicken tenders.

 

[pinnacle]

while the concept is decent....Florida will be tough:

1. The name of the game is getting enough stores up and running in order to get a bunch of tv and radio ads running...it is tought to get enough stores in order to afford massive advertising. About the only fast food burger chain that can expand into new markets and live on word of mouth is In-N-Out Burger.

2. Florida is very expensive as far as real estate costs (for commerical properties anyway). There is also some $100,000 per site use permit fee/tax that you get hit with in florida when you open a new location. Next to food and labor, real estate is the 3rd highest cost component. A lot of whatburger existing stores were built in texas years ago..cost was way cheap. Will not be the same in Florida. Only way to make it work is to have higher sales..which will be tough in new markets.

3. Whataburger is kind of hard to execute - they have a huge menu compared to most fast food places and are open 24 hours. They do not have a food nor a labor advantage over any other chain (i.e. they are about the worst on both as a % of sales).

4. Texas and surroundings states is one thing...Arizona whataburger sales are poor (store average - to say the least). I would think arizona would work better than florida. Why? More name recognition because whataburger has been around forever..and alot of their units have a low cost basis (land and building).....not sure if they struggle in AZ how they will succeed in florida.

I could go on and on...but I have to run....Sonic is able to expand easier because they rely on long time franchisees for alot of their growth in new markets and their real estate costs are alot cheaper (most have a very small building with no seating). Sonic and Krystal (the alleged white castle of the South) are also making a big push in Florida...and it has not been easy for either. Sadly...good food is not really the factor in who succeeds...it is about the economics of the units...and Sonic is way better than Whataburger (in terms or unit sales vs. cost to operate)...Whataburger has always struggled with their unit level economics outside of their core markets....and florida is more expensive...not a good combination.

of course..they could be wildy successful..but I doubt it. Years ago I was a research analyst of restaurant stocks....so I am not up on current stuff and only did it for a year or two...so I could be off base (obviously).

I saw an article about 12 - 13 years ago that stated that the failure rate for pro football players who opened franchises was was about 80% (i.e. 20% success rate). It was either an article or I heard it at a conference and the figure stuck in my head...so yes..they mostly lose money at stuff like this.

 

[Loyal Card 17]

whataburger tastes pretty good to me. ******** in box is better. mcdonolds prooved you don't have to have good food to be sucessful. anybody thinks mcdonolds has good food then you need to unplug your nose.

 

[BradMannTX]

Originally posted by Loyal Card 17
whataburger tastes pretty good to me. ******** in box is better. mcdonolds prooved you don't have to have good food to be sucessful. anybody thinks mcdonolds has good food then you need to unplug your nose.

Actually, about 5 years ago, McDonalds started to taste pretty good. McDonalds provides value to me. That is: okay taste for an okay price. Whatinthehell gives me negative value: horrible taste for a crazy price. I am only drawn to them (on occasion) by the 24 hour thing. In my neighborhood, Jack in the Box is open 24 hours, too, though. So the advantage goes to the Box in my (humble, burger-eating, fat-ass) opinion.