US fastfood giant Burger King has said two of its franchised restaurants in the area hit by hurricane Katrina two weeks ago have reopened.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more


Other Burger King restaurants in the area will reopen at the rate of about one per day.


“Due to an extraordinary team effort and good fortune, a Burger King restaurant was the first national quick service restaurant to open in metro New Orleans,” said Rich Wyckoff, Burger King’s division vice president of the region that includes the Gulf Coast.


The two restaurants – in Westwego and Harvey, Louisiana – were in some of the locations hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Both are providing a limited menu that includes Whopper sandwiches and other burgers, as well as French fries and beverages.


“We’re grateful that we’ve been able to begin serving guests again,” said Jerry Comstock, chief executive officer of Strategic Restaurants, owner and operator of the restaurants. “Our challenge in both of these restaurants – as well as the 20 others we expect to open in the next few weeks – is limited staffing. We are seeing significantly lower numbers of employees returning to work than we had hoped.”

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Around 200 restaurant-level positions are currently available in the area.

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact