Mark Wahlberg Casually Reveals Plans for Two More Metro Detroit Wahlburgers Restaurants

Mark Wahlberg has a way about about announcing new Wahlburgers locations. Between wandering around Meijer’s Corporate offices and hitting the links on this week, the actor and face of the family-owned Wahlburgers franchise managed to create quite a stir and fueled rumors that the Transformers star might be scoping out possible locations for the next burger chain outpost.

But it wasn’t until Wahlberg made a surprise stop at the Greektown restaurant in Detroit that Fox 2 got the scoop on the Boston-based burger slinger’s future plans for metro Detroit. “We’ve got a couple of other locations that we’re going to be announcing really soon,” Wahlberg says. “One in Taylor, one somewhere else close by near 13 [Mile] and Woodward.”

This isn’t the first time Wahlberg has dropped unexpected breadcrumbs about his burger chain to the TV station. Wahlberg famously spoke with Fox 2’s Lee Thomas about the initial Detroit expansion during a Daddy’s Home press junket in 2015. That restaurant debuted last August. Wahlburgers had previously confirmed plans for a major Midwest expansion in partnership with Bella Piatti owner Nino Cutraro. Four additional locations are expected to launch in Michigan and another five in Ohio over the next four years.

Meanwhile, the fast-expanding chain’s namesake family has been hit with a lawsuit from two of their Wahlburgers business partners. Billy Leonard and Edward St. Croix of Massachusetts allege that the Wahlberg brothers “stole the most valuable franchise opportunities for themselves” and that Mark Wahlberg once physically threatened Leonard on the set of the company’s eponymous reality show.

• Mark Wahlberg Says Expect More Wahlburgers in Metro Detroit [Fox 2]

• Wahlburgers Plots Major Midwest Expansion [ED]

• All The Chains Coverage [ED]