Whataburger Announces Tentative Wake Forest March 26, Raleigh April 9 Opening Dates

Whataburger will open its first Wake County restaurant on Thursday, March 26 at 489 Calvin Jones Highway in Wake Forest, followed by a Raleigh location tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 9 at 501 E. Six Forks Road, company timing reported to local outlets indicates. The Wake Forest date was described as tentative and attributed to a company spokesperson in The News & Observer; CBS17 confirmed the March 26 timing with a company spokesperson and said the Raleigh opening will follow.

Local coverage that relayed the openings described the Wake Forest site as being near Wegmans and called the Raleigh restaurant a Midtown East location on Six Forks Road. RALtoday/6AMCity summarized the sequence as a Wake Forest debut followed two weeks later by the Six Forks Road store, while an Instagram post citing The News & Observer identified the Raleigh site as “in Midtown East (near Wegmans).” Yahoo’s summary provides the most specific street address for Raleigh as 501 E. Six Forks Road.

The arrivals in Wake Forest and Raleigh are part of Whataburger’s broader North Carolina push. The chain entered the state in 2025 near Charlotte and now operates 12 locations statewide, with the most recent prior opening in Mebane late in 2025; Yahoo ran photos of the Mebane restaurant dated Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. Local reporting noted the Wake County openings will extend that footprint into the Triangle market.

Brand and menu details cited in local summaries emphasize Whataburger’s 24/7 operation model and signature items: Texas-sized burgers, chicken biscuits, patty melts, onion rings and signature sauces, alongside retro-chic store styling. RALtoday included a rendering credited to Whataburger / Elizabeth James and Yahoo used photos from the Mebane opening to illustrate the chain’s look and menu offerings.

Specifics remain tentative: none of the available reporting supplied a direct quote from a Whataburger spokesperson, nor did the releases list grand-opening schedules, ribbon-cutting times, promotional offers, or confirmed hours for the new Wake Forest or Raleigh stores. Until Whataburger issues final confirmation or a press release, the March 26 opening at 489 Calvin Jones Highway and the April 9 opening at 501 E. Six Forks Road should be treated as tentative dates reported by The News & Observer and confirmed in summary by local outlets.