Last Updated on April 29, 2026 by Craig Allen Keefner
Digital Only Restaurant Whataburger
Article on qsrmagazine Sept 2023
New concept by by Whataburger in Austin opened.
In Brief
- Referred to as the Whataburger Digital Kitchen
- features a mobile order lane instead of a traditional drive-thru
- completely cashless and solely relies on customers using the website or app to order meals.
- In addition to the website/app, customers are able to order food from two self-service kiosks outside. Guests also have the option of picking up their food through exterior, weather-resistant food lockers as opposed to the mobile order lane.
- ninth-largest burger chain in the country
- Wingstop and Panera adopted this model earlier. See Dunkin Donuts in Boston link
Excerpt Summary
Whataburger announced Tuesday the opening of its first digital-only restaurant, catering to consumers’ continuing shift toward off-premises.
Customer kiosk Whataburger – click for full size
Referred to as the Whataburger Digital Kitchen, the Austin, Texas-based restaurant is exclusively off-premises and features a mobile order lane instead of a traditional drive-thru. The store is completely cashless and solely relies on customers using the website or app to order meals.
“Making Whataburger quicker and more convenient for our Guests means fully embracing the digital restaurant experience—but not forgetting who we are at our core: A Hometown Whataburger,” Whataburger president and CEO Ed Nelson said in a statement. “Our Austin Guests were early to embrace other digital innovations, making it a perfect fit for our first Whataburger Digital Kitchen.”
