Flying Out of San Antonio Just Got Tastier. Whataburger Opens in the Airport This Week
Sep. 7—Whataburger is planning its long-awaited opening in the San Antonio International Airport this week.
The San Antonio burger chain will softly open to the public Friday, said Jesus Saenz, the city's airport director. It will celebrate its grand opening on Sept. 23, a spokeswoman said.
The restaurant will join other newcomers in the airport's Terminal A. Adina's Market opened in August, and BeerCode is slated to open in September or October.
Airport officials are looking to expand San Antonio offerings. The city plans to release a request for new concession concepts next year amid work on a $2.5 billion master plan to overhaul the airport and add capacity.
Whataburger has restaurants at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Love Field in Dallas and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. But the new location is close to home.
"After 71 years, we finally have a Whataburger at our hometown airport," Whataburger CEO Ed Nelson said last year in announcing the plans.
Whataburger fills the open space once planned for Chick-fil-A and formerly occupied by fast-food chain Raising Cane's.
In 2019, a divided City Council denied Chick-fil-A the chance to open in the airport in a controversial vote that later spurred a lawsuit. Council members had recoiled at the chicken chain because of past donations by the company's charitable foundation and its founder to organizations opposed to LGBTQ+ rights.
Council's 6-4 vote touched off a firestorm among conservatives who sued, accusing the city of trampling the company's religious freedom.
The city prevailed in a ruling by the state Supreme Court earlier this year.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg had championed Whataburger as a replacement for Chick-fil-A after the 2019 council vote.
Randy Diamond contributed to this report.
***Editor's note: This article has been corrected to state the soft opening is scheduled for Friday.
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