- January 30, 2026
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A pair of popular out of state fast food chains planning big moves in the Tampa Bay market — and across the region — are setting up shop in Pinellas County as they begin a takeover focused, in part, on transplants looking for a taste of home.
Both brands made an official introduction to locals over several days in early November.
The chains, whose names will have the ring of home for those who’ve spent time in the south and Texas, are Bojangles in Pinellas Park and Whataburger in Largo.
The pair introduced themselves and showed off new digs earlier in the month, unveiling not only new locations and menu items but making sure folks knew this was just the start.
The expansion plans come amid something of a slowdown in the fast food sector. Big chains that posted decreases in quarterly sales this past summer, according to Axios, include Wendy's, down 3.6%; KFC, with U.S. same-store sales down 5%; Pizza Hut, where U.S. same store sales were also down 5%; and Popeyes, which fell 0.9%.
Sales at Burger King rose 1.5% in the second quarter, while McDonald's posted a 2.5% quarterly increase, Axios reports. But even the Golden Arches had a tinge of worry in its sights: "Visits across the industry by low-income consumers once again declined by double digits versus the prior year period," McDonald's CEO Christopher Kempczinski said on an Aug. 6 earnings call.
Those who made it out to Bojangles got to sample the menu and those who went out to Whataburger got to see the famous winged W and got a preview of what’s coming next year.
“We have such a nostalgic, beloved brand that we’re always trying to find ways to get into a community and build that from the ground up,” says Peggy Rubenzer, Whataburger’s chief people officer.
“We’ve got that in Texas, now how do we provide that kind of service level to our guests here so that we're building a new nostalgia, a nostalgia for them?”
The two chains debuting in Pinellas are among a quickly growing number of fast and fast casual restaurants companies that have identified Florida as a new frontier of sorts for expansion. The names — Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Jollibee’s, Kelly’s Roast Beef and Riko’s Pizza among them — were local favorites somewhere else and are looking to both reach customers who’ve moved here while creating new regulars.
But it’s not just cashing in on former diners. A big draw is a strong, growing region with population growth that’s creating consumer demand.
“What we look for is the market, the population, diversity in the population,” says Allyson Campbell, senior director of marketing for Bojangles.
“But real estate is No. 1. Can we find the right location that meets consumer needs and that's convenient? So those are really key things.”
Bojangles is not really new to the Tampa market.
The North Carolina chain had a presence locally in the 1980s before moving out. Campbell isn’t sure why, saying “it was before my time” and a company spokesperson couldn’t provide an answer.
But whatever the reason, that doesn’t matter now, they say. And it didn’t seem to bother the more than 100 people invited to try a sample menu Nov. 3, the day before the official opening.
Bojangles is a southern fast food chain known for its fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits and Cajun-style seasoning. Its menu is built around comfort food staples like chicken strips and sandwiches, biscuits, breakfast, red beans and rice and seasoned fries.
The Pinellas Park restaurant is at 7930 U.S Highway 19 N.
Campbell says it will employ about 100 and is one of two opening in the Tampa market. The other will be in Pasco County’s Lutz and is expected to open before the end of the year.
In addition to the local restaurants, the company has built five in and around Orlando including one in Davenport, in eastern Polk County. There are also restaurants in Tallahassee, Ocala and Jacksonville.
Bojangles has three more Tampa area locations planned for next year.
Beyond that, Campbell says the company plans to build throughout the entire state and to be “pretty aggressive” locally in the next three years. She does not have a number for how many locations there will be, saying Bojangles is still in the development process.
The next part, which began with the Nov. 3 event, is introducing the brand to the market.
That is where Bojangles has that built-in advantage of an existing customer base that helps when expanding.
Campbell says the area’s large number of transplants means that locals may have experienced Bojangles in college or where they grew up before settling here.
Then, because the chain has multiple airport locations, there are people who discovered it while traveling. That includes community events and getting involved locally.
But there are many more who have never heard of Bojangles that need to be reached.
That effort began in earnest Nov. 3 when among those packed into the U.S. 19 restaurant were local officials, first responders and, because the objective was spreading the word, social media influencers.
“What we've learned,” says Campbell, “is there’s many people that don’t know who we are, so we have to come in and introduce ourselves.”
Whataburger’s first Tampa Bay area restaurant won’t open until next year. But its plans are solidly in place with the company strategically planning its expansion like a field general.
Its first location in the region will be in Largo, at 10150 Ulmerton Road, and is scheduled to open early next year.
Whataburger held what it called a groundbreaking event Nov. 6 — but the building has been completed, with only work on the interior remaining. With its distinct orange and white color palette and famous winged W signage, you wouldn’t blame someone driving down Ulmerton Road if they pulled into the parking lot.
Whataburger is the Texas-based fast-casual burger chain with a fiercely loyal following. It is to Texas what In-N-Out Burgers is to California. It is, in part, known for its made-to-order burgers and being open 24-hours.
The chain has been expanding in the south in recent years and already has a solid presence in north Florida with 47 restaurants between the panhandle and Jacksonville. And, like Bojangles, Whataburger previously had a presence in the Tampa Bay region, including locations in Clearwater and St. Petersburg, near the Skyway Bridge. But the brand left the market some 20 years ago.
The plan for Whataburger in Tampa — and when it expands anywhere — can best be described as surround and conquer, says Rubenzer.
”As we look at how to build out, we like to separate our first few so they're pretty distant from each other so they don't gobble up each other,” she says.
“And then, we start to fill in around those.”
Locally, it will open the initial three locations next year at key geographic points across the region and build from there.
The first to open will be the Largo restaurant unveiled in early November. A location in Brandon, just east of Tampa, is set to open in the spring. The third will be in Lutz, just north of Tampa in Pasco, which will open in the summer.
South of the Skyway Bridge, a Whataburger is coming to the SeaFlower Village Center, the retail component of SeaFlower, a massive mixed-use development under construction in southwest Bradenton. Developers Casto and Redstone Investments began work on that retail center in September. Also, last September the company proposed a Whataburger location for a high-traffic area of Sarasota, near the Bee Ridge Road and US 41 intersection.
Rubenzer, while not speaking about those two locations specifically, says the plan is to have eight restaurants open in the Tampa market by the end of 2027.
Following that, Whataburger would slow down and evaluate. The company is growing in several new markets and the Tampa region is one of its newest focuses. But with that growth, it has to be careful not to overextend itself and make sure it does not tax its distribution system, upsetting quality.
It’s also important to be thoughtful, to learn a market and to make the connections that can be built on before growing, says Rubenzer.
“I would say this for a market like Tampa, we wouldn't stop at eight,” she says.
“Eight is just kind of where we want to get started. And then we'll kind of get a better feel for the market, the community, listen to our customers and then we move from there.”
