Whataburger East Conroe plans call for a $2.3 million, 3,306-square-foot restaurant at the northwest corner of Highway 105 East and North Loop 336 East. The ground-up project would bring the Texas burger staple to a stretch of Conroe that has a noticeable gap in the chain’s local footprint.
Conroe already knows its way around an orange-and-white sign. However, the next location would give customers along the eastern Highway 105 corridor a new place to stop closer to home.
Whataburger East Conroe Fills a Gap on the Map
Whataburger’s official Conroe directory currently lists four restaurants: 2123 West Davis Street, 457 South Loop 336 West, 802 North Loop 336 West and 9353 Highway 242. The proposed restaurant would become a fifth Conroe-listed location if those four remain open.
That list explains why another Whataburger is a local story. Three existing addresses sit on West Davis or the western portions of Loop 336. The fourth serves the Highway 242 corridor farther south. This project adds a stop on Highway 105 East, toward Cut and Shoot.
Highway 105 meets Loop 336 on both sides of Conroe. The planned restaurant belongs at the eastern intersection, east of downtown and I-45.
A Roughly One-Acre Commercial Pad
A commercial property listing for the northwest quadrant describes a 1.002-acre pad at the signalized intersection. Marketing material lists approximately 154 feet of Highway 105 frontage and 140 feet along Old Highway 105.
It also describes shared access with the adjacent convenience store from Highway 105, North Loop 336 and Old Highway 105. The listing dates to June 2024, establishing a commercial-development history before the restaurant filing.
The marketing material identifies McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, Sonic and Walgreens around the intersection. Whataburger East Conroe would therefore add another familiar name to an established commercial corner. The available property information describes a standalone pad; it does not identify a larger named shopping center.
Two Hands, a Five-Inch Bun and a Texas Beginning
Long before the chain reached Conroe, Harmon Dobson had a straightforward idea: make a hamburger big enough to require two hands. He opened the first Whataburger on August 8, 1950, in Corpus Christi. The hoped-for reaction after that first bite became the name: “What a burger!”
According to Whataburger’s official anniversary history, the original burger came on a five-inch bun and cost 25 cents. The price soon rose to 35 cents, which appears on the stand in the historic photograph above.
The company’s Texas identity eventually received formal recognition. In 2001, the Texas House of Representatives recognized Whataburger as a Texas treasure, honoring a business that had grown from a portable burger stand into a major restaurant chain.
Today, the company’s press kit reports more than 1,200 restaurants across 17 states. The menu has grown, too. Alongside made-to-order burgers, recognizable offerings include the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, with a crispy chicken strip and sweet honey-butter sauce. Fancy Ketchup and Spicy Ketchup have become part of the brand’s identity in their own right.
Whataburger East Conroe Construction Schedule
The state project registration, TABS2027002697, lists November 1, 2026, as the planned construction start and April 1, 2027, as the estimated completion date. April 1 is a construction estimate, not a confirmed opening date.
The filing identifies CL Thomas Holdings LLC as the owner and Dallas-based Rouch Architects LLC as the design firm. Its $2.3 million estimate covers construction of the new 3,306-square-foot restaurant.
For East Conroe, the practical change is simple: a familiar Texas order would become available at a new point on the local map.