Wahlburgers' Partnership With Major Grocery Chain Fizzles, Closes 79 Locations The popular burger chain, founded by Mark Wahlberg and his brothers Donnie and Paul, will no longer be found in Midwest grocery giant Hy-Vee stores.
By David James
Wahlburgers, the burger chain founded by chef Paul Wahlberg and his celebrity brothers Mark and Donnie, announced the closure of 79 locations.
USA Today reports that the shuttered restaurants were all located within Midwestern grocery giant Hy-Vee stores. The partnership between Wahlburgers and Hy-Vee played a large part in the brand's expansion, but ultimately led to overextension, say industry experts. Hy-Vee announced plans to revert these in-store eateries to its own Market Grille brand.
Related: How Wahlburgers Finds Success Through Feedback
This move leaves the burger chain with just over 40 remaining locations nationwide.
Restaurant Business Online spoke with Wahlburgers CEO Randy Sharpe, who explained that these locations accounted for a "small portion of sales" and that the chain wants to focus more on its actual restaurants rather than what amounted to kiosks.
"We are growing restaurants," Sharpe said. "We're not going to be in the grocery business."
Sharpe told the outlet that the chain plans to open 15 new locations this year.
Wahlbergs opened its first location outside of Boston in 2011. It began rapidly expanding thanks to franchising, and per RDO, went from 30 locations in 2019 to 109 in 2023. The rise of the restaurant chain was captured on the reality TV show, Wahlburgers, that ran from 2014 to 2019.
In 2020, Mark Wahlberg discussed the rise of Wahlburgers and how it fit into his vision of success during an interview with BIZ Experiences magazine, which you can read here.
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