Texas fast-food chain Whataburger opens in Mauldin, 'this is just a great community'

The Texas fast-food chain Whataburger opened its third restaurant in the Upstate on Monday.

Monday, Whataburger opened its doors in Mauldin.

According to Preston Hughes, growth market leader and district manager of the South Carolina stores, the restaurant has already opened locations in Boiling Springs and on Woodruff Road in Greenville. An Anderson store will open in two weeks, and two stores will open in Spartanburg in October.

The restaurant will then expand to Irmo and Columbia by the end of the year.

"We're really excited because Mauldin, look at the colors. Mauldin High School was here today and they're orange and white. It matches the brand perfectly. This is a community that has a lot of schools, a lot of families, a lot of great businesses, this is just a great community we want to be a part of," Hughes said.

"One thing people don't realize about the brand is every one of our employees has the opportunity to have college scholarships, and if they don't want it they can give it to a member in their household to utilize for school."

Whataburger sources its product regionally, with distribution facilities and fresh beef sourced from Atlanta. According to Hughes, the product gets from the farm to the store in seven to 10 days.

Some Whataburger superfans have camped outside the new stores ahead of the opening to ensure their status as the first customers.

Kizzie McCrayry and Jacob Huntley got to the Mauldin Whataburger at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening. The two friends did the same when the Woodruff Road store opened last month.

"The first time I had Whataburger, my friends and I were going on a trip to Las Vegas, and my friend, Jacob, was telling me about how good Whataburger is," said McCrayry as she laughed. "When I tried it, I'm telling you it is the best burger to me. When I hear people say it ain't all that or compare it to McDonalds it really makes me want to fight because it's not true."

Between the two, they have won 208 free burgers from the chain and four boxes full of Whataburger swag.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Mauldin Whataburger location officially opens, what to know to go