Whataburger has hardly been idle in its 75th year. Debbie Stroud, then EVP and COO, succeeded Ed Nelson as CEO to begin the calendar in January. The former SVP, U.S. retail operations at Starbucks, who also clocked 27 years with McDonald’s, joined Whataburger in 2023. Just this week, the company also named Todd Ewen CDO. Ewen, too, came over with McDonald’s experience, where he served a development director and real estate manager at the burger giant.
More widely, however, Whataburger has expanded to six additional states since 2019, including Florida and Georgia. No. 17 is now on deck—North Carolina. Whataburger’s goals for the Tar Heel state will start in the Charlotte area and expand toward Raleigh and beyond.
The brand made a pit stop in Raleigh Tuesday with its food truck to feed the community and spread the Whataburger message. QSR caught up with Stroud to talk about the expansion, her time as CEO, and the ongoing journey.
Let’s start with North Carolina, where the first Whataburger locations are planned for this summer. What’s it like taking such a classic chain on the road?
First of all, we have a team of people who get excited. We get a lot of requests on social media about “come here next, come here next.” So when we actually choose the next market or state we’re going to, it’s incredibly special for the team because we want to represent the brand at its very, very best.
You’ve got very loyal fans. I’ve had some of them talk to me here today, who have said, “I’m from Houston,” or “I was driving by and saw [the food truck] and had to pull over so I could come get a Whataburger.” The growth is really special to us because we want to do so in a way that helps the brand continue to thrive. It’s not only for the folks who are most loyal, but also for the new customers who we’re introducing the brand to.
It’s a good point. A new-market entry for a brand like Whataburger isn’t so much an exercise in awareness, right? It feels more like you’re being a steward.
I would say it’s a little bit of both. One, it’s a fun brand to introduce to people. It’s great to talk about our fresh beef, in-house chopped vegetables, we have [merchandise shop] Whatastore, we’re a fun brand that’s about community and family. But it’s also talking about what brought us here. What brought us here are the fresh ingredients, the bold flavors, but above all else, it was the feeling and the experience you got at Whataburger. You felt like you were walking into somebody’s home, and you were welcomed in. That everyone belongs. So if you can create that answer, with a Sweet and Spicy burger or a patty melt, then we’ve done our job.
Like you mentioned, Whataburger is one of the brands that doesn’t enter new markets all that often. How are you planning to be deliberate in North Carolina and not just expand as quickly as possible?
It’s very deliberate. We have a five-year growth plan. We review it every year. What’s next? And where can we have the best impact? Because No. 1, supply chain and the fresh-never-frozen beef is at the core of who we are. So with North Carolina being our 17th state, we’ve also announced that we’re going to be going into the Tampa [Florida] market. For North Carolina specifically, this year it’s the Charlotte and surrounding areas, next year it will be Raleigh and surrounding areas, plus Tampa—that’s thoughtful. Do we have plans for future states? We do. In the next five years, stay tuned.
So what has life been like as CEO since taking the role in January?
For the last two years as COO, I got to be in my favorite place, which is in the restaurants with people. I will tell you I am going to try to remain true to that. I’ve carved out time on my calendar to ensure that I am in markets, talking to customers, talking to our family members, to learn about how we can help remove any barriers to help the brand thrive. They have the answers. The 75th year has really been a year about listening and being attentive to our customers.
If you think about the Monterey Melt launch [last seen in 2022], it was because our speakers kept saying, “we miss the Monterey Melt.” That was kind of an easy decision as CEO to say, let’s bring that back. The next sandwich offering also happens to be one that’s on Change.org. If you pay attention to what your customers are requesting and then make it come to life, you’ll make a lot of happy people.
How has your leadership style evolved?
I am always in a continuous learning phase. I’ve been doing a lot of listening. I think that’s where you start. Particularly in some of the areas where I had influence but not authority, like marketing and development, or franchising etc. So just doing a lot of listening. But beyond that, it’s really about setting the vision and unlocking expertise around you. We’ve got an incredibly talented group of leaders. I have such love for the folks who wear the orange shirt every day. If you trust them and remove the barriers and give them the tools so they can do the job the way that they want to, the rest of the pieces fall into place.
It’s a lot of listening and then it’s being very deliberate about the choices that you can make. Innovation is part of the 75-year company. We’re 75 years young. So where do we want to innovate? Digital. Technology. Obviously, growth.
I have to ask, what was the reaction from the rest of the now-famous Whataburger “she-suite” when you became CEO?
Janelle Sykes [CFO], Peggy Rubenzer [chief people officer], Elena Kraus [chief legal officer] are all tremendous thought partners. What I say is it does change the dynamic of what you think about when you’re making decisions. An example is something Donna Tuttle [VP of marketing and communication] and I were just talking about the other day, with the lobby décor, and how might we make the flow of the front counter for the lobby ambiance, if you will. What might be possible there as that evolves?
And all the leadership conferences that I’ve been a part of, particularly in the women’s networking, women’s meetings, and that includes CEO roundtables, which I’m able to now be a part of—there is an ability to translate what you are working on and thinking through and problem solving that’s just seamless. When you share your experiences and share vulnerabilities, what you’re working through or decisions you’re trying to make, what we find is there is a pretty big community that just wants to help each other. You have to create that space. Think about it: women have impact. We are connectors by nature. We want to bring people together and we want things to be better. Get them all in a room and watch what happens.
