Name: Trumbull burger joint with star power joins departed CT restaurants
Brand: ctpost.com
SKU: ctpost-com-26
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Trumbull burger joint with star power joins departed CT restaurants

preview

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateTRUMBULL — Wahlburgers has closed at Westfield Trumbull, the company’s only location in Connecticut and among the handful of destination eateries at Connecticut malls given the big Hollywood name fronting the chain.Launched in 2011 to leverage the star power of actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, Wahlburgers has grown rapidly with more than 50 locations, from West Hollywood, Calif. to Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood where the Wahlbergs grew up. Nearly half of those restaurants are located at Hy-Vee grocery stores in several states, after a deal late last winter on the eve of the pandemic to convert existing Market Grille restaurants to the Wahlburgers concept.A handwritten sign stated the Trumbull restaurant is closed “until further notice” but Trumbull’s economic development director told officials last month she does not expect the restaurant to reopen. Wahlburgers and Westfield have both removed the Trumbull eatery from their websites.Wahlburgersin October 2017 under franchisee John Sullivan. The Hingham, Mass.-based company did not respond immediately Tuesday to a query on the status of the restaurant at Westfield Trumbull; a spokesperson with mall owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Group declined comment on the closure.“It is a prime location on the mall property,” stated Rina Bakalar, head of economic development for the town of Trumbull. “I believe it will be occupied by another restaurant in the future (but) the reoccupation may take a bit of time given the current COVID impact.”On Tuesday, the Connecticut Restaurant Association launched aMore Business#Save CTRestaurants campaign, with the trade group stating more than 600 statewide have closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with more to come in the months ahead without a monetary infusion and pledge to allow indoor dining to continue.On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont asked Connecticut diners to show continuing support for restaurants by ordering takeout service if disinclined to eat out.“Our industry is on the verge of collapse,” wrote Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, in a letter to Lamont and leaders in the Connecticut General Assembly. “Connecticut must do more if we want to save our restaurants.”Westfield Trumbull has other full-service restaurants in Ten Asian Bistro and The Cheesecake Factory, with the mall having several other food options as well including a food court that has lost Chiang Mai Thai and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen. In October, Westfield Trumbull filed for town approval to fit out two new food-court eateries in China Max and Teriyaki Way.Our easy-to-use guide will help you navigate some of the most popular housing markets in CT.Wahlburgers franchises its restaurants to independent operators, collecting 6 percent royalties on receipts and a $40,000 franchise fee for each location. Mark and Donnie Wahlberg have supported franchisees with guest appearances, both by video feed and in person including in the summer of 2019 when Mark Wahlberg drew a large crowd during an appearance at Westfield Trumbull.Like other malls nationally, Westfield Trumbull has been lookingby adding leisure and entertainment options outside traditional mall retail, to includeand L.A. Fitness. The company isto build apartments on the property.In Norwalk, developer Brookfield Properties made dining and entertainment the center of the new SoNo Collection’s concept, skipping the standard food court in favor of both fast-casual and upscale dining options to includeand theon deck next month with a large offering of craft beers.Danbury Fair mall operator Macerich found a quick replacement for Brio Tuscan Grille which closed in May after its parent company declared bankruptcy, withadjacent to The Cheesecake Factory.The Cheesecake Factory closedin August, with the downtown Stamford mall having lost Plan B Burger Bar as well.Due to a reporting error, an initial version that posed Dec. 1 did not include Ten Asian Bistro among the full-service dining options at Westfield Trumbull.Includes prior reporting by staff writers Donald Eng and Paul Schott. Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulmanOur easy-to-use guide will help you navigate some of the most popular housing markets in CT.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateTRUMBULL — Wahlburgers has closed at Westfield Trumbull, the company’s only location in Connecticut and among the handful of destination eateries at Connecticut malls given the big Hollywood name fronting the chain.Launched in 2011 to leverage the star power of actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg, Wahlburgers has grown rapidly with more than 50 locations, from West Hollywood, Calif. to Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood where the Wahlbergs grew up. Nearly half of those restaurants are located at Hy-Vee grocery stores in several states,...

Trumbull burger joint with star power joins departed CT restaurants

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS