KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and Texas native Patrick Mahomes is leading the effort to bring his favorite burger chain to the place he now calls home.
Whataburger already had plans to open four Kansas City-area restaurants in Overland Park, Lee’s Summit, Independence and Blue Springs.
Now, through a new franchise group called KMO Burger, the chain plans to add 30 more restaurants in Kansas and Missouri during the next seven years.
KMO Burger is an “investor-led franchise group” that includes Mahomes, who also is part-owner of the Kansas City Royals and Sporting Kansas City among other business ventures.
"I love Kansas City and I love Whataburger,” Mahomes said. "I'm excited to help bring a gift from my first home to my second home."
KMO’s expansion also will bring Whataburger north of the river.
The first of the group’s planned restaurants will open next year at Missouri 152 and North Booth Avenue, and 400 N.W. Barry Road in Kansas City, Missouri.
Whataburger also announced plans for a corporate-owned restaurant at West 95th Street and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park.
Corporate leaders said they’re excited to expand into the Midwest.
“We are excited to have KMO Burger join the Whataburger team!” Ed Nelson, Whataburger president and CEO, said in a statement. “Expanding to Kansas and Missouri is a win for Whataburger and our fans in America’s heartland.”
KMO Burger, like Mahomes, is made up of people who grew up eating and loving Whataburger.
“KMO Burger is comprised of a group of investors from Texas with a deep appreciation for Whataburger,” Phillip Rose, chief financial officer of KMO Burger, said in a statement. “Eating there is a part of growing up in the Lone Star State.”
The new restaurants will bring more than 500 jobs to the region in 2021, and thousands more jobs during the next several years, according to KMO.
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