Let the barrage of “say hi to your mother for me” burger-themed puns commence.
Entourage executive producer Mark Wahlberg- formerly known as the rapper Marky Mark- is going into the burger business with brother Donnie. However, central to the business is a third, lesser known Wahlberg- Paul. While Mark has hit it big in Hollywood and Donnie was internationally famous in the boy band New Kids on the Block, Paul Wahlberg has been working as a chef at his restaurant in Hingham Mass- named Alma Nove, after the Wahlbergs’ mom.
Perhaps predictably, the restaurant has been named “Wahlburgers,” and it will open in a massive, 4,300 space at the Hingham Shipyard across from Alma Nove. The trio and a business partner were a bit worried they’d be unable to secure the name for Wahlburgers, as there was already an existing business using the word “Wahlburgers” in upstate New York.
Business partner of Wahlberg, Ed St. Croix, spoke to the Boston Herald about the new burger spot and said that gaining rights to the name went smoothly, and the group behind the venture, Paragon Funding Group III LLC, “secured ‘full spectrum’ access to the “Wahlburgers” moniker. Whether that cost the Wahlbergs anything was not disclosed, but St. Croix called the deal an “amicable process.”
He added:
“Working with the people out in New York, they were fantastic. It worked out well for both sides.”
Can’t have Mark Wahlberg for yourself and want a Wahlburger instead? The Wahlberg venture has been approved for a liquor license and seating for 80 inside and 40 outside- and it’s expected to open “very soon.”
