HOUSTON — Texas-based Whataburger has several locations open in the Houston area following the passing of Hurricane Beryl. With thousands of people looking for a hot meal, some are using the Whataburger app to find a location that is serving food. A viral post on X says to use the Whataburger app to track where power is getting restored. The KHOU 11 Verify Team reached out to Whataburger to find out if the restaurants on the map that are marked open have power and are serving customers.
THE QUESTION
Can the Whataburger app be used to track where power is being restored?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, the Whataburger app can be used to track where power is restored for their restaurants.
WHAT WE FOUND
Power service provider for most of the Houston area, CenterPoint, since May has not had a map showing where power is getting restored. Following the passing of Hurricane Beryl in the Houston area, without an outage map, some people are using the Whataburger app to find food and to find out if the lights are back on.
In a statement provided to The KHOU 11 Verify Team, Whataburger's President and CEO, Ed Nelson said, "Whataburger is that friend by your side in good times and bad. We're glad the Whataburger app has been helpful to Houston residents to understand where power is available in the city."
The company says the app should only be used as a general idea of power availability and encourage customers to call the restaurant to ensure they are open and serving food.
According to the map, the grey Ws are locations that are not open. Whataburger tells The KHOU 11 Verify Team, that locations marked with orange W are open and serving customers through the drive-thru only. If you click on a location with an orange W and a hamburger symbol appears, it means that the location is also open and accepting online orders.
Whataburger also told the KHOU 11 Verify Team, that the company plans to help those affected by Hurricane Beryl, and will soon provide more details on helping in the recovery effort.