Mark and Donnie Wahlberg will soon open Wahlburgers in Boston with their brother. From Gladys Knight’s mac-and-cheese take to Ryan Seacrest’s list-topping option, see more celebrities with burger-boasting restaurants.
Celebrity siblings Mark and Donnie Wahlberg are joining forces with their brother Chef Paul to open a burger restaurant in Boston. The 120-seat restaurant—eponymously called “Wahlburgers”—will be at Hingham Shipyard. “It’s a good-sounding brand we could put out the product with, a great name people could relate to,” one of their partners said. Hopefully, there will be The Fighter and New Kids on the Block-themed items on the menu.
Mark J. Terrill
Pop star-turned-actor Justin Timberlake is one of the co-creators of New York’s “Memphis style” barbeque restaurant Southern Hospitality. Before its opening in 2007, Timberlake was involved in creating the restaurant’s concept and coming up with menu items, although he does not actually own the venue. Its rib and pulled pork-heavy menu also includes three burgers: the $14.95 Double Beef Burger, which is stuffed with smoked brisket; the standard, self-titled $11.95 Southern Hospitality Burger; and the $12.95 King Burger with pimiento cheese. But we assume vegetarian Olivia Wilde did not partake in a Timberlake-influenced burger when she reportedly stopped by the establishment with him in May.
Basketball star Michael Jordan opened The Steakhouse in 1997 at Grand Central Station in New York City. And now, there are locations in New York, Connecticut, and Chicago. The upscale menu includes a 45 day, dry-aged steak, mac and cheese, a 23-layer chocolate cake, and, of course, the $19 Michael Jordan All-Star Burger. One review said, “If you’re looking for him, he ain’t there. But if you’ve come for great beef, that’s another story.”
It may not be the legendary Roscoe’s, but Gladys Knight and Ron Winans’ Chicken and Waffles restaurant, which originally opened in Atlanta in 1997, has made its way all over Georgia. The franchise has established itself in the world of that niche dish that combines both breakfast and dinner favorites. In addition to their signature waffles—complete with butter and syrup—and fried chicken, the menu boasts a bevy of burgers. There’s the $5.99 Original, the $8.50 Mac Burger, complete with mac & cheese, and the $10.99 Wil Wil’s Bacon Burger Dog, which tops a patty with a split hot dog, two slices of bacon, melted cheese, and 1000 Island dressing. Clearly, they are not counting calories.
Housed in an old train depot in Park City, UT, Robert Redford’s Western-inspired restaurant is true to the classics, which may be why both the lunch, dinner, and children’s menus all include the Grilled Black Angus Burger. With Swiss or cheddar cheese, it costs $13; while apple smoked bacon brings the cost up to $15. Whichever way diners decide to add to their burger, it’s the fries that put Zoom’s burger over the top. “For any of your who love the California fast food restaurant In-and-Out,” a Park City Journal reviewer wrote, “you will appreciate it when I say that these fries are just as good if not better.”
Nearly 35 years after Jimmy Buffett released “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” the first restaurant of the same song name opened in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2002. The chain now has 34 locations in 17 states and though it was originally a partnership that included Buffett's company, the singer now only receives 4% of all profits. Buffett’s song was reportedly inspired by a boat journey Bufett once took to the Caribbean. He said that he would dream of eating a "piping hot cheeseburger" and finally found one. He blogged that it “tasted like manna from heaven” and added:“ When the urge hits me to have a burger, I try to match my desire to splurge with the right town and the right burger.” According to the Cheeseburger in Paradise menu, the right burger may be the Good Egg with American cheese, grilled ham, over-easy fried egg and mayo.
A burger joint filled with Hollywood memorabilia—and supported by former power couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore joined with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger—what could go wrong? Plenty, it turned out. Robert Earl, the former CEO and President of Hard Rock Café, and Keith Barish, a film producer and real estate developer, opened the Planet Hollywood franchise in 1991 in New York, along with the aforementioned celebrities. At first a success, Planet Hollywood spread throughout the country—and then the world. But things soon went downhill— the company filed for bankruptcy twice and Arnold Schwarzenegger opted out in 2000, saying he wanted to focus more on his film career. But Earl refused to take the failure, and despite losing many of the original investors by 2007, he opened up the Planet Hollywood casino in Las Vegas, this time with only Stallone and Willis as investors. And burgers are still a staple. In addition to their slider appetizers, Planet Hollywoods also boast “the best burger you’ve ever had” with their Celebrity options with Swiss, mushrooms, bacon, and more, and the Double Down, which has it all.
There’s more than meets the eye to the trendy burger place Lemon Basket in West Hollywood—especially with a group of investors that looks like a Who’s Who of Young Hollywood. Longtime best friends and entrepreneurs opened a small tapas lounge named Belly in Santa Monica, which they then turned into the Dolce Restaurant Group. with celebrity investors Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Chris Masterson, Wilmer Valderrama, Laura Prepon, Dule Hill, Jamie Kennedy. In 2011, they teamed up with VH1’s Famous Foods to open a restaurant in West Hollywood. Seven reality contestants, including Heidi Montag, were tasked with opening a restaurant, the winner of which would open Lemon Basket in West Hollywood, which includes a $16 8 oz. Kobe beef burger.
Dominick’s Restaurant in West Hollywood is an Italian-style restaurant that is reminiscent of New York—with some definite star power in its owners, Rose McGowan, Laura Dern and Ben Harper. Its fanciful, $15 burger—with crispy speck, burrata, and roasted tomato mosarda—is available for both lunch and dinner.
The Innovative Dining Group runs some of the trendiest restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, including Boa Steakhouse, Sushi Roku and Katana. But there’s more to these restaurants than just the stars that dine there: Ryan Seacrest, Tori Spelling, Rob Lowe and Brett Ratner are all silent partners in the Innovative Dining Group. Though it is an upscale restaurant, Boa’s burger made it onto BurgerBusiness.com’s list of Top 25 Steakhouse burgers in America.
Robert DeNiro partnered with celebrated restaurateur Drew Nieporent in 1990 to open a restaurant to serve the film community in the New York neighborhood, Tribeca. The actor teamed up with a number of other A-listers to open the Tribeca Grill, one of the biggest tourist draws in New York. Giving his restaurant a true neighborhood feel, DeNiro is often seen around the Tribeca Grill and paintings by his father, Robert DeNiro, Sr., line the walls. And in keeping with its down-home vibe, Tribeca Grill offers a black angus burger.
