SPARTANBURG — The first Whataburger in South Carolina is now open in Spartanburg County.
The Whataburger at 3647 Boiling Springs Road opened at 11 a.m. July 15. Only the drive-through is open for now but in-store dining and pickup will be available later.
By 8:30 a.m., the line for the Texas-based burger chain stretched around the adjacent Target parking lot.
The folks at the front camped out overnight to get free Whataburger for a year.
Dani Phillips and her friend Katie Olivera arrived at 8 p.m. the night before, with plans to sleep in the car. But that didn’t happen.
Dani Phillips, right, and Katie Olivera were third and fourth in line to get free Whataburger for year at South Carolina’s first Whataburger in Boiling Springs.
Instead, they played board games on blankets stretched out on the grassy median and made friends with their fellow Whata-fans who were also spending the night.
Phillips first had Whataburger during a business trip to Texas and has been obsessing about it ever since. She’s frequently badgered the Whataburger team on social media to open up a store in the Palmetto State.
Phillips said she generally doesn’t like fast food, but Whataburger’s different.
“I know that it is still a fast food burger,” she said, “but just the quality of the ingredients — I love avocado bacon burgers, and theirs is actual fresh-sliced avocado, not a lot of your fast food, puree-from-a-pouch situation. And as dumb as it sounds, the spicy ketchup is to die for.”
She’s been following all the locations as their opening dates have been announced, including the two scheduled to open in Spartanburg. One is on the west side, near where she lives, and the east side location is close to her work.
“I’m really well-triangulated at this point,” Phillips added. “I keep joking, ‘Somebody at Whataburger did their market research for where I’m gonna spend all my money and they just put them there.’”
The only folks who beat Phillips were Andrew Richards and his friend Matthew Davis. They got in line at 7 p.m.
Andrew Richards, left, and Matthew Davis camped out at 7 p.m. July 14 to be the first two in line for free Whataburger for a year at South Carolina’s first Whataburger.
“I eat Whataburger in Texas whenever I travel, and I’m tired of driving to Texas for Whataburger,” said Richards, who owns a vintage car parts business. “And now I have one about 5 miles away from home. So I’m excited.”
His first Whataburger was in Dallas five years ago. He had just gotten off the plane and picked up a rental car but hadn’t yet heard of the brand.
“I saw the big orange W and got a mushroom Swiss burger,” Richards said. “It was awesome.”
Richards slept in his Chevrolet 3500 van while in line.
His van is fitted with a shelf in the back that holds a mattress, solar panels, a power bank and a refrigerator so he can save money on hotels when he’s traveling around to buy parts.
That setup came in handy while camping out.
“Free Whataburger for a year is exciting,” he said. “It’s worth it.”
The Boiling Springs Whataburger is open 24/7 and serves breakfast from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m.
Here are the upcoming South Carolina Whataburger opening dates:
- July 29, 2024, 1466 Woodruff Road, Greenville
- Summer 2024, 1185 Dutch Fork Road, Irmo
- Late summer 2024, 308 W. Butler Drive, Mauldin
- Late summer 2024, 2900 Main St., Anderson
- Fall 2024, 202 Bridgeberry Lane, Columbia
- Fall 2024, 1941 E. Main St., Spartanburg
