Brandon’s getting its Whataburger back this spring, and it is landing right in the middle of the action. The Texas burger chain is set to return with a new restaurant at 1426 W Brandon Blvd, taking over the former Aussie Grill building. The Brandon opening trails the brand’s recent Tampa Bay debut and will drop that familiar orange and white drive thru into a busy retail corridor, as part of a broader rollout the company says will bring multiple sites across the Bay over the next two years.
Where it will sit
According to What Now, the new Brandon Whataburger will occupy the former Aussie Grill space at 1426 W Brandon Blvd. A leasing brochure for the property from Atlantic Retail describes the site as a roughly +/-4,387 square foot freestanding quick service restaurant with a drive thru and pegs average daily traffic on W Brandon Blvd at about 59,000 vehicles.
Whataburger’s Tampa Bay push
Whataburger made its Tampa Bay debut in February when it opened at 10150 Ulmerton Road in Largo, the first Tampa Bay location for the chain, according to Creative Loafing. The company says that Largo restaurant is the first of eight planned across the region by the end of 2027, a timeline that would give Tampa Bay a full slate of locations within the next few years.
WUSF reported that the Largo restaurant opened on Feb. 12 and is operating 24/7. Company leaders also held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the first Bay site last November, local outlets reported, signaling that the brand’s regional expansion plan has been in motion for months.
Hiring and early signs of build-out
Local job postings tied to “Unit 1689” list 1426 W Brandon Blvd as the Brandon address and show Whataburger recruiting for both crew and leadership roles, a clear sign that interior build out and staffing are already underway. Breakroom currently shows multiple recent openings tied to that unit, suggesting a full hiring push rather than a slow ramp up.
Civic outreach appears to be part of the company playbook as well. Coverage of the Largo rollout describes Whataburger engaging with city officials and community groups ahead of opening as part of its pre launch strategy, according to Gateway District.
Why this matters for Brandon
The W Brandon Blvd corridor is already one of the area’s busiest retail and dining stretches, and those roughly 59,000 vehicles per day noted in the Atlantic Retail materials give Whataburger a built in stream of potential customers, from lunch hour traffic to late night drive thrus…