CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Sixteen restaurants in Arizona, Georgia and Texas have emerged as finalists in Whataburger's own WhataGames. The 58-year-old Texas burger chain will host the culmination of its 'burger Olympics,' a bi-annual competition between more than 614 Whataburger restaurants from 10 states, this March in Dallas. The 16 finalist teams will be competing for bragging rights and prize winnings of more than $140,000.
For the past four months, Whataburger restaurant teams have studied their operations manuals, practiced their burger building skills and memorized Whataburger history, facts and figures. Through a process of elimination involving mystery shoppers, independent restaurant audits and pop quizzes, the top 16 restaurants rose above the rest.
Each team is comprised of 10 members: one general manager, one manager, two team leaders and six team members, who will compete in the finals. The 16 teams will compete March 5-7 in three different parts of the competition to determine the gold, silver and bronze medal winning teams: WhataYaKnow, a Jeopardy-like game; Texas Hot Hold 'Em, a card game about procedures; and What's Cookin', a simulated 30-minute lunch rush at a Whataburger restaurant.
The WhataGames prizes include:
- Gold medal winning team — $5,000 each and $500 each for their fellow restaurant team members at home
- Silver medal team — $2,500 each and $250 for their restaurant team members
- Bronze medal team — $1,000 each and $100 for their restaurant team members
In addition, six teams from the company's maintenance staff will compete to prove who can best maintain equipment like fryers, grills and drive-thru speakers. Whataburger's maintenance services staff maintains all of the company's more than 700 restaurants.
Three technicians from each of Whataburger's six regions will compose the teams as they compete for the same level of prizes as the restaurant teams.
WhataGames finals are the featured event during the Whataburger Family Convention, held in Dallas and attended by Whataburger corporate and regional representatives, spouses, franchisees and the WhataGames national finalists.
