photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence's first Whataburger location, pictured on Sept. 9, 2024, is under construction at 707 W. 23rd St.

Lawrence Whataburger fans can now circle a date on their calendars — Oct. 28.

An official with the Kansas City-based franchise that owns the Lawrence Whataburger location told me the company is pushing really hard to have the restaurant — which would be Lawrence’s first Whataburger — open by Oct. 28.

But, he also wasn’t guaranteeing it.

“We hope to be able, at the earliest, to be open Oct. 28,” Jay Battle, chief operating officer for the Whataburger franchise KMO Burger, told me. “That’s an aggressive opening date, but we sure hope to be open before Thanksgiving. That’s our plan.”

That is the most definitive date the company has given thus far for its Lawrence restaurant, which is under construction at 707 W. 23rd Street in the spot that used to house Mi Ranchito Mexican restaurant.

The date, though, is a bit different than what some Whataburger fans, however, might have been hoping for. You see, there was a spicy rumor about spicy ketchup — a Whataburger staple — floating around this week.

The nationwide website for Whataburger was listing that Lawrence’s first Whataburger restaurant was now open. A quick drive-by of the site proved that wasn’t correct. While the basics of the building appear to be completed, it is clear there is still a significant amount of work to do at the site. Drive-thru menu boards weren’t installed, nor were parking lot lights, building signs or any of the landscaping that the city will require before allowing the building to be occupied.

The website listing, while inaccurate, had led some folks to believe that maybe the restaurant was just days away from opening. However, the only way that would have happened is if KMO talked Chief quarterback Patrick Mahomes — one of the investors in the Whataburger franchise — to run his version of the two-minute drill with the construction crew. (That could be fun to watch, and I’m sure there would be plenty of people sign up to do so.)

While we are on that topic, no, Battle did not provide any information about whether there is a plan to bring Mahomes to Lawrence for some sort of grand opening event. Just because I’m feeling ornery, though, I will note that Oct. 28 is a Monday. The Chiefs play the Las Vegas Raiders in Vegas the day before. So, it wouldn’t be impossible for Mahomes to be in Lawrence on that day. (After all, it is not likely the Raiders will wear him out.)

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Lawrence’s first Whataburger location, pictured on Sept. 9, 2024, is under construction at 707 W. 23rd St.

A big part of the opening date will be dependent on when the city of Lawrence provides an occupancy permit for the building. Battle said the company doesn’t yet have an occupancy permit for the site. Once the company gets one, there will be a significant amount of on-site training to do for employees before the restaurant opens.

As for what is a Whataburger, I’m assuming most everyone has figured that out by now. But if not, here are some basics: The restaurant long has been a fast-food staple in Texas, Oklahoma and other parts south of here. But it has become a big deal in Kansas City because Mahomes was such a big fan and made it his mission to bring the chain to the Kansas City area.

As for the food, well, the hamburger is of course the main attraction. The standard comes with mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and diced onions on a 5-inch bun. Other toppings are available, like jalapeños, grilled pepper and onions, avocado, and sometimes the chain even has special toppings like a hard boiled egg or green chiles. The other item that gets a lot of talk is ketchup. While the hamburgers don’t come with ketchup as a standard fixing, the restaurant actually offers two types of ketchup — a regular version or a spicy version. Picante sauce and salsa verde are also part of the offerings.

The restaurant also is big into breakfast, and in particular, late-night or early morning breakfast. Most Whataburgers are open 24 hours.

I have one other restaurant rumor to deflate. There had been talk that IHOP — once known as the International House of Pancakes — had permanently closed its lone Lawrence location.

There was a reason to think that was the case, but it is not. The restaurant, at the corner of 31st and Iowa streets, was closed for a significant number of days, but it recently has reopened. I don’t know all the details of the closing, but when I stopped by the restaurant on Monday to confirm it was still in business, an employee there told me it had closed to allow for some significant repair work to take place on the building’s plumbing system.