"In 1950, entrepreneur Harmon Dobson set out to make a burger that prompted visitors to exclaim "What a burger" upon first bite, leading to the trademark name. At a time when 2 ounces of beef was set into a 2 and a half inch bun, Whataburger's quarter pounders were piled into 5 inches of hamburger bun - and the idea was regarded as remarkable."
"The meat and vegetables were fresh and cooked to order in specially-made pans that could accommodate eight of these behemoths at once. The first Whataburgers sold for 25 cents each and became immediate hits. Not only was Dobson an inspired businessman, but the man was also a pilot and resorted to tactics like pulling banners with the business name through the sky and dropping free burger coupons from planes. In time, he even designed restaurants with inspiration taken from his time in the cockpit."
Harmon Dobson founded Whataburger in 1950 to create a larger, quarter-pound burger that would elicit 'What a burger' upon first bite, leading to the name. The burgers used fresh meat and vegetables, cooked to order in specially-made pans that held eight at once, and were sold for 25 cents, becoming immediate hits. Dobson, a pilot, used aerial marketing like banner towing and dropping coupon flyers, and incorporated cockpit-inspired design elements into restaurants. He planned an orange-and-white A-frame for visibility, drawing on aviation practices that use glossy orange-and-white paint, checkered patterns, and windsocks to mark important buildings and landing areas.
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