Give the people what they want

Jul. 16—Whataburger will officially open in Lebanon on Monday, becoming the third Nashville-area installment of the famous Texas franchise.

According to a release from Ana Flores, a senior account manager for the Hahn Marketing Agency, the drive-thru will be open, but it will still be at least a couple of weeks until the dine-in service is available.

The restaurant, which is located at 630 South Cumberland St., will officially start serving guests at 11 a.m. on Monday.

All three current Nashville-area locations are corporate-owned. Kimberly Moss is the operating partner for the Lebanon restaurant.

"We are hard at work training our dedicated team of family members to deliver our extensive menu of bold flavors, made to order, fresh and hot, with a side of extraordinary hospitality," Moss said. "We look forward to offering our friends in the Lebanon community a chance to enjoy the great Whataburger experience at this time from the most convenient spot around — their vehicle."

Following full-service availability, Whataburger will celebrate its grand opening by welcoming guests inside.

The restaurant's aesthetic pays homage to Whataburger's history while implementing modern functionality, such as a state-of-the-art kitchen. The dining room will be an open-concept layout, and the drive-thru will have double lanes. Interior details include custom wall art honoring Lebanon's hometown landmarks.

The opening of the Lebanon location is the third in a line of planned Whataburgers in Middle Tennessee. There will be a second Whataburger opening in Lebanon later this year on Highway 109. A Whataburger in Mt. Juliet is also expected to open early next year.

It also comes on the heels of a Whataburger that recently opened in Gallatin.

Kim Baker, the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer, indicated that she attended the opening day at the Gallatin Whataburger.

"We were really impressed with Whataburger's traffic plan," Baker said. "Our local officials in Gallatin and the police department worked well with them. They had a concrete traffic plan that kept people moving in and out."

According to Baker, the plan helped keep customers' wait times down.

"The wait time in the drive-thru that day from the time you pulled in and pulled out with food was only about 20 minutes," Baker said.

The CEO described the relationship with the restaurant as being smooth and positive.

"We were really impressed with them," Baker said. "Our chamber has enjoyed working with them to bring it together. The restaurant has been well received, and the staff has been great, knowledgeable and super friendly."

Courtney Vick is a field marketing coordinator with Whataburger. She helps orchestrate ground-breaking ceremonies and ribbon cuttings for the stores in Tennessee and Northern Mississippi.

"What we try to do is have festive openings in the community," Vick said. "We try to make it like a celebration or a party. Talking to our operations people, Gallatin was a near-record opening. We had sustained traffic the entire day."

Vick also grew up in Lebanon.

"It's great to be able to bring something you're invested in to the place you call home," Vick said.

Lebanon Economic Development Director Sarah Haston indicated in a phone call on Thursday that a local connection had proven fruitful for attracting the Texas-based franchise.

"The site selector is a Lebanon resident," Haston said. "We worked with them to secure that spot."

That relationship turned out to be even more fortuitous.

"Since we developed a relationship with their site selector, we connected them with the (Highway 109) Publix developer," Haston said. "It was magic. The next thing you know, we're getting two."

The March 2020 tornado damaged a strip mall at the site where Whataburger now stands.

"We are glad to see new development there," Haston said.

The Whataburger unveiling follows a string of recent new-restaurant openings in Lebanon. A McAlister's Deli opened last month on South Cumberland Street. The city also announced that Highway 109 plans include a Zaxby's.

While some of the restaurants start from scratch, others, like McAlister's Deli, reimagined former restaurants. The building that McCalister's Deli is in used to be an Applebee's Grill and Bar.

"I took a lot of pride in its opening," Haston said. "Before we announced McAlister's was coming in, I couldn't even walk my dog without people coming up and asking me what was going into the old Applebee's."