Wahlburgers closes in Port Jefferson Station
The O.F.D. (Originally From Dorchestah) at Wahlburgers is a half-pound burger paired with Swiss cheese, bacon, sauteed mushrooms and housemade tomato jam. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Three-plus years after it opened to much fanfare, Long Island's lone Wahlburgers franchise is no longer. "We are sad to say this is Wahlburgers Port Jeff last weekend open since it will be moving to another Long Island location," read a social media post from the franchise owner, whose Facebook name is Adam O'Mally. It ran a day or so before the closure. "We are so excited for the new concept that will be coming here soon."
In another thread, O'Mally intimated the new place would open this spring, but did not elaborate.
The Nesconset Highway Wahlburgers, which opened in Dec. 2016, was locked at lunchtime Monday. It was also the sole location in New York state for the chain, founded outside of Boston in 2011 by chef Paul Wahlberg and his celebrity brothers, Mark and Donnie. The business' growth was chronicled in an A&E reality television show that ran for five years and aired its final episode last summer.
Wahlburgers still counts 31 locations and three food trucks across the country, according to its website. While two more locations are listed as "coming soon," neither are in New York. A Wahlburgers in Philadelphia closed last summer; two NYC locations closed in 2017 and 2018, and more recently, a Raleigh, North Carolina, was closed after a health inspection. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Wahlburgers had walls adorned with Walhberg brothers memorabilia. (In February 2017, Mark Wahlberg visited the location, arriving by helicopter.) The spot served a menu of burgers, frappés and hearty sides; the Port Jefferson Station location also had 30 taps of beer.
