ROUND ROCK, Texas — Editor's note: This story was originally published in CultureMap Austin here.
CULTUREMAP AUSTIN – Whataburger fans in the Austin area soon will get their first taste of the burger chain’s redesigned restaurants.
A new Whataburger restaurant is opening soon at 17000 N. RR 620 in Round Rock. A recent visit to the site indicated that most if not all the exterior work is finished, including landscaping; it was unclear how much interior construction remains.
A Whataburger spokeswoman couldn’t provide an opening date for the new location.
This Whataburger restaurant will be the first brand-new store in the Austin area to feature the chain’s new — and divisive — design scheme, which the company unveiled last year. The first brand-new redesigned restaurant debuted last November in Bellmead, a Waco suburb.
The new Round Rock restaurant trades the chain’s classic A-frame building design for a subtle A-frame architectural element above the front entrance. The element appears behind Whataburger’s iconic “W” logo. In addition, the exterior scales back the familiar orange-and-white color palette. The revamped interior gives off a modern but slightly retro vibe, accented by orange-and-gray seating and warm wood finishes.
PHOTOS: Whataburger serves up first new-look restaurant in the Austin area
James Turcotte, chief development officer and senior vice president of real estate at Whataburger, told CultureMap last year that the design makeover marries the old and the new.
“We have gone to great lengths and effort to try to maintain the linkage to our past because we know, particularly in Texas, that people’s grandparents have eaten there, their parents have eaten there, they’re eating there,” Turcotte said. “We don’t take that loyalty lightly at all. We’re going to great lengths to try to make sure that they feel like the tradition of Whataburger is still there and being maintained, and we’re being good stewards of the brand.”
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