Where will Whataburger open its first Kansas City restaurant? One site jumps into lead

The race is on for the first area Whataburger.

So far Overland Park has the head start. On Monday, the Overland Park Planning Commission approved Whataburger’s revised preliminary plan for a 3,751-square-foot-building with double drive-thru in Overland Pointe Marketplace.

It would be on the site of the former Salty Iguana Mexican Restaurant at 8420 W. 135th St. The final plan is up for approval during the commission’s Jan. 11 meeting.

The first confirmation of a metro Whataburger came in late June when a Lee’s Summit official said they were in talks for a restaurant at Douglas Street and Saint Luke’s Boulevard.

Days later, Whataburger announced plans to expand in the Kansas City area and Tennessee.

In October, the Texas-based chain submitted a plan for the Overland Park location.

The company also is in talks for a Blue Springs restaurant (on the site of a former Winstead’s). City officials said no plans have been submitted.

Whataburger also has been in talks with Independence officials. An Independence site has not been announced.

On Tuesday, Ryan Elam, director of development services for Lee’s Summit, said they are working through some design questions with the Whataburger team, but a plan has not been submitted.

Whataburger was founded by Harmon Dobson in 1950, according to the company’s website. He had an idea, an eatery that would “serve a burger so big that it took two hands to hold, and so good that after a single bite customers couldn’t help but exclaim, ‘What a burger!’ ”

This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 3:51 PM.