[WOW] Whataburger Continues to Open, Plan, and Cancel Stores Across Metro Atlanta

A growing burger chain is looking to open in place of a former burger restaurant that's trying to find itself.  A franchisee of Whataburger is looking to open a new restaurant in place of the former Wendy's at 4453 Hugh Howell Road in Tucker.  

New Whataburger in Johns Creek 

Wendy's closed its restaurant in its circa 1977 building this past October amidst an overall unit count reduction for the Dublin, Ohio-based chain.  According to documents supplied to the City of Tucker, Made to Order Holdings (MTO), the local Whataburger franchisee, plans to utilize the roughly 2,500 square foot building to suit its needs.  If successful, this would mark the first conversion unit for the franchisee in metro Atlanta.  (Whataburger corporate operates units in Atlanta, Kennesaw, and Newnan that were all built as Pollo Tropical restaurants.)  

The company is seeking a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) from the City of Tucker and public meetings are required.  The community meeting will be held at 6 p.m Feb. 24 at the Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library, 5234 LaVista Road in Tucker.  

The stretch of Hugh Howell where Whataburger is looking to "reactivate" the former restaurant has seen several new restaurants, with drive-thrus, open in recent years.  A relocated/expanded Chick-fil-A opened at 4435 Hugh Howell Road in August 2023 followed by a new Dutch Bros. on the site of a former Sonic at 4545 Hugh Howell Road in October 2025.  Hugh Howell in the vicinity of the proposed Whataburger is also home to Cook-Out and Zaxby's, among other drive-thru restaurants.  

The City of Tucker has in recent years adopted more strict regulations on drive-thru restaurants within the city limits.  For more on that, see this reporting by Decaturish.   

MTO currently operates twelve Whataburger restaurants around the state with at least one more, at 5825 State Bridge Road in Johns Creek, slated to open Monday February 23.  The Johns Creek unit replaces a former Wells Fargo bank, while the group's efforts to replace another former Wells Fargo on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs were unsuccessful.  

Made to Order Holdings, currently headquartered in Macon but reportedly relocating to "metro Atlanta in Spring 2026," is controlled by Travis Goff of Goff Capital, a family office in Fort Worth.  

Despite MTO's growth, Whataburger has had some bumps in the road in recent months.  The company shuttered eight corporate units across three states in December including Georgia restaurants in Athens and Dahlonega.  More recently, ToNeTo Atlanta has learned that the company is offering for lease/assignment its built but unopened unit along Highway 53 (officially 60 Serd Way) in Braselton, as well as previously committed sites in Cumming (3119 Ronald Reagan Boulevard) and Holly Springs (110 Heights Parkway).  

The San Antonio-based chain indicated as recently as late 2022 that it planned to have 50 new locations in Georgia by 2030. 

Are you pleased to see Whataburger expanding in metro Atlanta?  What has been your experience when visiting local Whataburger restaurants?  What is your favorite fast-food burger?  

Please share your thoughts below.