The first Chattanooga-area location of Whataburger is now open in East Ridge.
At the former site of Wally’s Restaurant at 6521 Ringgold Road, the new Whataburger started serving customers Monday by drive-through only.
“We were eager to join the East Ridge community because we feel Whataburger is such a good fit here,” Chrisy Lambert, marketing manager of Whataburger franchisee MWB Restaurants, said in an email. “With the proximity of Camp Jordan and the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, there’s a lot of pride and tradition in this community, and we are thrilled to share our history and bold, fresh flavors.”
To say the restaurant was busy on opening day would be an understatement, Cedric Joyner, MWB Restaurants market leader for South Tennessee, said Monday by phone.
“The regular Whataburger is what everybody’s getting right now,” Joyner said of the East Ridge restaurant’s top-selling item.
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The original Whataburger is made with fresh, never frozen beef and freshly cut vegetables, and it’s huge, he said of the 5-inch-diameter burger.
“It makes you say, ‘What a burger!'” Joyner said. “That’s literally how it got its name.”
Other popular picks include the patty melt – made with two beef patties, grilled onions, Monterey Jack cheese and creamy pepper sauce on Texas toast – and the Monterey Melt, he said.
“That’s been flying out the window,” Joyner said of the Monterey Melt, a limited-time burger offering made with two beef patties, Monterey Jack and American cheeses, jalapeno ranch and grilled onions and poblano peppers.
The East Ridge restaurant’s dining room seats 47 and should be open in the coming weeks, but Joyner said he is unsure of the exact date since it is dependent on several factors.
He said the restaurant now has about 100 employees and he plans to continue hiring on an ongoing basis.
MWB Restaurants, which operates 19 locations of the Texas-based Whataburger chain in Alabama and Tennessee, plans to expand further in the Chattanooga area.
“We’re just excited to be here to serve Hamilton County, and we’re going to keep building them as long as y’all keep showing up,” Joyner said.
Another location is set to open in March at 2332 Shallowford Village Drive, which was previously home to a Fazoli’s, he said.
“Whataburger will become your new tradition by serving up goodness 24/7 with a made-to-order, customizable menu of burgers and other favorites delivered just like you like it,” Lambert said, adding that Whataburger also offers a breakfast menu from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m.
Whataburger is one of several restaurants to open recently in East Ridge, where at least three restaurants opened in 2025 near Exit 1 off of I-75.
Down the street from Whataburger, Jersey Mike’s and Smoothie King opened in a renovated BB&T Bank branch at 6501 Ringgold Road.
Across I-75, Panda Express opened at 629 Camp Jordan Parkway in the Jordan Crossing development, which has drawn nine other restaurants, bars and coffee shops since Bass Pro Shop opened in the development in 2016.
Contact business reporter Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.
