A look at the past, and future, of Whataburger

A Deeper Dive

What is the future of Whataburger under its new CEO?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast A Deeper Dive features Ed Nelson, the CEO of Whataburger, and Debbie Stroud, who will take the chief executive job at the end of the year when Nelson retires. They joined the podcast for an exclusive interview.

Whataburger is a Texas-based chain with more than 1,000 locations in 15 states. It had operated as a family-owned brand for 69 years before it was sold in 2019 to BDT Capital Partners.

Nelson has worked with the chain since 2004 and was named CEO in 2020. We talk with Ed about his tenure as chief executive, the transition from a family-owned brand to an investment firm-owned brand and how the company dealt with the pandemic. We also talk about the chain’s elevation of general managers into operating partners.

Stroud was brought in as chief operating officer last year. She had a long career with McDonald’s and Starbucks. We talk with her about her priorities for the brand, its future growth and the keys for its future success.

We also talk about technology and the love Texas consumers have for their homegrown burger chain.

It’s an exclusive interview with the current and future CEOs of Whataburger so please check it out.