Shoes tied, backpacks strapped, and sunscreen slathered, Greg and his 12-year-old son, Jack, took off on a 50-mile quest from their home in Arlington, Texas, to Greg’s mom’s house in Springtown.

Their goal? 50 miles. In two days. On foot. Fueled by Whataburger.

The orange-and-white roofs were a beacon for the pair, which stopped at every Whataburger on their #Whatajourney – nine in all.

Decked out in Whataburger T-shirts, the duo made it from Arlington to the first Whataburger in Fort Worth in less than two hours.

Greg chowed down a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit. Jack got a sugar high from a cinnamon roll and Strawberry Fanta, the first of many he would guzzle on the walk. Only 47ish miles to go!

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“The goal is to get something different at each stop,” Greg told a growing group of social media followers during stop No. 2, while they cooled off inside another Fort Worth restaurant.

The real goal? Time together. There were jokes and guy talk and serious conversations about church and what life will be like for Jack when he enters seventh grade in the fall. And lots of talk about their next Whataburger stop, and the cold, cold air-conditioning awaiting them.

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They broke for lunch in the city of Hurst. “Just an easy-breezy 6 miles since the last stop.”

In a video-game, phone-focused world, this adventure gave the father-son duo quiet time outside. After seeking out the best path across a creek, Greg and Jack talked about getting past obstacles in life. “That led to even more great conversations about life,” Greg says.

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Last stop of Day 1 in the town of Saginaw. The Haugens snapped a photo with the Whataburger staff, who were quick to serve up meals – and cold drinks.

At a hotel just across the street, Jack crashed quickly, and Greg nursed blisters on his feet.

“I was worried … that the second day wasn’t going to happen,” he says.

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But Day 2 dawned with new energy – and a renewed commitment to their quest.

Counting American flags – 326 in all – took the focus off their feet. And they played word games and sang songs.

“Any time there’s a chance for adventure and a chance to be silly, that’s the route I’m going to take,” Greg says.

Jack branched out to Orange Fanta at stop No. 8, a different restaurant in Saginaw.

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Seven hours and 12 miles later, stop No. 9 “was simply spectacular!”

Family and friends surprised them, and Family Members at the restaurant in Azle threw a party to celebrate their journey. “We walked in to applause and cheers,” Greg says. “We felt like Whatakings!”

Less than 4 miles to go!

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Kathy Haugen greeted her weary son and grandson at 9:35 p.m. on June 28.

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The trek allowed Greg to really see things along a route he’s traveled his entire life. “We’re missing a whole lot of what’s going by when we don’t take an opportunity to look around us,” he says. “I’m going to try to be more in the moment from now on.”

Whataburger’s all fun and games when you’re rolling up after midnight for a Patty Melt and chocolate shake. But it’s serious business on the other side – especially as WhataGames, Whataburger’s restaurant competition, heats up.

Family Members from Whataburger restaurants across the country vie for medals – and big money – at WhataGames, happening in Houston this March.

WhataGames 2019

WhataGames is three days of hard-core work. The playing field is the same as the training ground: a Whataburger restaurant.

For this competition, though, we close down a store and put the Whataburger warriors through their paces.

Extra avocado on that Whataburger! Double orders of bacon on that Taquito! Onion rings and chocolate shakes for everyone!

In a different restaurant nearby, maintenance games challenge our techs to find and fix breakdowns on the fly. Is the grill cooking at the ideal temp? Is the thermostat working correctly? Just how hot is the water in the hand-washing sink?

In It To Win It

How serious is this competition? Winners take home $5,000 cash. Each. Other medalists can win $2,500 or $1,000.

The Family Members who compete – about 250 individuals from all regions of the company – begin training months in advance. They spend hours studying Whataburger history and culture, and they focus on teamwork.

“To get to the finals, you’re the top of the top. Just getting there is a huge accomplishment,” says Andres “Andy” Cano, a Family Member at Whataburger #4 in Kingsville, Texas.

Cano has been to the competition twice before, and his restaurant won gold in 2017. He qualified to compete again this year.

“Yes, we want to win, but what we really want is to be better people,” he says. “Just go up against yourself and be a better version of yourself. Everything else will take care of itself.”

Back in January 2013, Michael Reeves decided to conduct a little experiment.

He wanted Whataburger to open a location in Tuscaloosa, Ala., but wasn’t sure how to get the attention of the company’s decision-makers.

So he started a Facebook page: Whataburger 4 Tuscaloosa AL.

Its mission? “To bring the quality and tradition of Whataburger to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.”

Now, more than five years later, Reeves’ dreams will be coming true – in duplicate.

A Whataburger will be opening at 820 Skyland Blvd. on Feb. 28th – and a second location will open at 1301 McFarland Blvd. later in the year.

Whataburger 4 Tuscaloosa!

Since moving to Tuscaloosa in 2006, Reeves has been driving an hour each way to get his Whataburger fix at a 

Birmingham location. The Family Members at that store take the time to package the condiments, meat, and bread separately so that it’s still fresh when Reeves assembles and devours it after driving home.

That attention to guest service is just one reason Reeves was missing Whataburger so much.

“I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like Whataburger,” says Reeves, a computer lab instructor for Easter Seals of West Alabama. “I grew up in southeast Alabama and northwest Florida, and we would get Whataburger and head to the beach … oh man, it tasted great.”Those memories drove him to foundthe Whataburger 4 Tuscaloosa group, which quickly swelled to more than 200 members – including a local media personality, who started her own petition.

The Facebook group has taken on a life of its own. For years, members shared rumors about a potential store, as well as memories of their own Whataburger experiences.

And since Whataburger officially broke ground of a restaurant in Tuscaloosa last year, members have been posting photos as the walls go up, speculating about opening dates, and even sharing tips on how to get a job at the soon-to-open restaurant.

Getting Fan Support

Another member of the group, radio personality Kimberly Madison of the Madison & Shepherd morning radio show on 92.1 The Possum, is a relatively new fan … but a passionate one.

Her sister-in-law had been urging her to try Whataburger if she had the chance, so when she and a friend (another hardcore Whataburger fan) were in nearby Pelham, Ala., they stopped in for a Whataburger with cheese.

“I was so excited about trying my first Whataburger that my friend grew nervous that she’d oversold the experience,” Madison remembers.

Not to worry, she says. “She didn’t.”

Like Reeves, Madison was inspired to connect with fellow fans in the area. She created an online petition (complete with video of her eating her very first Whataburger) to bring Whataburger to Tuscaloosa. It drew 1,712 signatures from folks who were ready to order up a Patty Melt or Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit.

“Eating Whataburger never gets old,” she says. “We are beyond excited.”

A Taste of Home

Meanwhile, University of Alabama students who hail from Whataburger states are getting ready for late-night runs for onion rings, apple pies, and (of course) a Whataburger.

Native Texan Madison Bush is already celebrating, in fact.

She and her friends painted the door of her room in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house with the familiar orange-and-white stripes of her favorite brand.

“My parents grew up in Corpus Christi, and Whataburger has always been a part of my life,” she says.

Now? She’s looking forward to a chance to pick up her favorite order: Whataburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake 24/7.

After she graduates in May, Bush is slated to attend graduate school at UA as well. Which means she plans to be a regular at both locations for years to come. “Oh yes, Whataburger is built into my schedule,” she says. “I’m ready.”

Whataburger has its own competition. In a kitchen.

Take a break from all that skiing and skating to learn more about how your Whataburger teams cook and compete at the biannual WhataGames.

Every other year, Family Members from Whataburger restaurants across the company come together to compete in WhataGames, three days of intense competition.

Family Members go head-to-head to see who can deliver best on Whataburger’s promise of hot food hot, cold food cold, and the biggest smiles in the business.

This is serious business. Winners take home $5,000 cash. Each. Other medalists can win $2,500 or $1,000. But for these Whataburger warriors, it’s really about kicking some burger booty.

Here’s an inside look:

Order up! In the photos, it looks like any other Whataburger restaurant, but it’s not! For WhataGames, the company shuts down a restaurant and brings in fake guests to place orders and test the competitors on their accuracy and friendliness.

The competition is designed to feel like an intense one-hour lunch rush – something the teams handle in their home stores every day. Orders can be dine-in, take-out, or drive-thru.

Teams are judged for getting the orders right – and for doing it with a smile.

Someone always orders fries with no salt, just to make things complicated for the fry guy. See the judge in the background? She’s keeping an eye on things to make sure procedures are followed and food safety comes first.

When the orders come out, the judges don’t get to eat them. Instead, they examine everything. Did the Grilled Chicken Sandwich come with a side order of avocado? Did the Patty Melt come with extra sauce? They even weigh the orders of fries to make sure the portions are correct.

After an hour of non-stop orders, the buzzer goes off. And the teams celebrate. They’ve been training for this moment for months!

There are other competitions too. Teams show off their knowledge of Whataburger history and culture in a game show, complete with lights, theme music, and a host.

Guests want their home restaurant to look their best, which is why the Whataburger Maintenance Services Crew is such a big part of the Family. Select technicians get to compete in the games too.

While the restaurant folks were filling orders in one restaurant, the maintenance techs were having their own challenges. The company closed another restaurant down and broke things inside – from dining room booths to ceiling tiles to shake machines – and then challenged the techs to find the problems … and fix them.

The Family Members who compete say the games are really stressful. But they still have a lot of fun. Check out these giant dice!

And these gigantic French-fry skis!

And this game, which is all about working together as a team.

The teams take this competition seriously – but they have a lot of fun too.

And the Whataburger Fan Zone is there to cheer them on every step of the way.

The Fan Zone is a group of Whataburger Family Members who put on everything orange they can find, and come out to encourage the competitors. Pom-poms definitely required.

And when it’s all over, each member of the winning team takes home gold medals. And $5,000. Each. Yes, every person wearing a bright orange shirt in this photo just found out they are $5,000 richer. (Second and third place aren’t bad either. Each silver medalist gets $2,500 and each bronze medalist score $1,000. Cash.)

But the best part of WhataGames is the way friendships get stronger as you compete side by side.

And best of all? Getting to tell the other teams you’re the orangest of the orange.