The Weekly Lowdown: Whataburger Opens, People Whatalose Their Damn Minds

The Weekly Lowdown: Whataburger Opens, People Whatalose Their Damn Minds
Staff Photo Nick Brothers On its second day of being open, there was still a constant line of cars waiting in line to be served at the new Whataburger fast food restaurant on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fayetteville.

Staff Photo Nick Brothers On its second day of being open, there was still a constant line of cars waiting in line to be served at the new Whataburger fast food restaurant on Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fayetteville.

WHATABURGER OPENS, PEOPLE WHATALOSE THEIR DAMN MINDS

Y’all saw it. People — let’s just go ahead and presume mostly ex-Texans — were waiting for upwards of two hours (during lunch) for fast food cheeseburgers Monday when Whataburger opened on Martin Luther King Boulevard. While it varied in length throughout the day, the line stayed pretty much constant well into the night. On Tuesday, the line was still going strong past the Burger King.

To handle the onslaught of cheeseburger thrill-seekers, three off-duty police officers were on site to handle traffic, complete with orange cone lanes to divide the traffic. Luckily, those officers were paid by Whataburger, not our tax dollars.

I know the odds are pretty good that at least one of you reading this was a part of the #Whatamadness, or currently in line for it. I just want to ask, how can you justify that amount of time spent? Yeah, they’ve got pretty solid stuff for a fast food joint, but two hours? I can barely justify waiting 30 minutes to be sat at a restaurant, let alone two hours for a Whataburger!

That all being said…as soon as that line returns to equilibrium I’m hitting that bad boy up.

BENTONVILLE’S AMAZEUM OPENS

The grand opening of the Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville was July 15, and it looks pretty dang cool, even from the eyes of an adult.

The $21.5 million children’s museum holds 50,000 square feet of fun, Fortune 500 company kid-friendly attractions that are poised to invoke interest and excitement in engineering, science, creativity and apparently industry. It’s also only $9.50 per admission.

But hear this, there’s a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market simulator inside where kids can act as cashiers, deli workers or backroom suppliers. As the website states, “The Neighborhood Market is a place full of activity and imagination.”

Right.

What kid, in their right mind, would want to act like they’re working at Wal-Mart? That’s got to be the least fun-sounding museum attraction I’ve heard of. Somehow, it’s hard to imagine a child screaming, “Mommy! I just saved the company millions of dollars by cutting health insurance benefits to our part-time workers!”

OZARK BEER CO. EXPANDS

Keep an eye out on this Rogers brewery. All signs seem to be pointing up for these guys.

Last week, the brewing company responsible for those black and white beer taps and the Ozark IPA upgraded their operations from six 30 barrel tanks to nine, increasing their overall capacity by 50 percent. They’re about 13.5 feet tall each and they hold up to 900 gallons of beer.

Fans of Ozark Beer can expect to see more of their brews in cans, with plans to have the Cream Stout distributed in cans by the end of the year. Once they get their IPA canned after the Cream Stout, they will join the American pale ale and Belgian pale ale.

The Free Weekly wrote about the booming craft beer scene back in December. It’s good to hear that the trend seems to stable, if not accelerating. Drink local, y’all.

Categories: Legacy Archive