The Whataburger app has gained popularity in Houston, Texas following Hurricane Beryl, which caused power outages for around 1.8 million utility customers. As temperatures rise into the mid-90s due to the impending heat wave, hundreds of thousands of people remain without power.
Frustrated with the lack of a power outage tracking tool from local utility company CounterPoint Energy, some Houstonians turned to the Whataburger app for help.
The San Antonio-based fast food chain Whataburger has 127 stores in the Houston area, and users can use the Whataburger app to see which stores are open or closed.
An online user named BBQBryan discovered that the Whataburger app’s store map function could be repurposed to track power outages, as CounterPoint Energy does not provide a similar service.
Following BBQBryan’s revelation, Whataburger’s app saw a significant increase in downloads and now ranks 16th in the food and drink category on the iOS App Store.
While the use of the Whataburger app for power outage tracking is amusing, it sheds light on the lack of support for Texas residents during extreme weather events. The reliance on a burger app highlights the ongoing issues faced by Texans when dealing with natural disasters and power grid failures.
