Burger News

Marky Mark opens celebrity burger chain at The Star Frisco

It's Wahl this and Wahl that.

Courtesy of Wahlburger

UPDATE 10-25-2019: The restaurant will open Monday, October 28.

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A new burger experience is coming to Dallas with celebrity ties: Wahlburgers, the burger chain from the Wahlberg family of Boston and Hollywood, will open its first restaurant in Texas at The Star in Frisco.

Wahlburgers is a casual dining burger and bar concept founded by brothers Mark, Donnie, and chef Paul Wahlberg with a diverse lineup of burgers, sandwiches, sides, and specialty drinks. The restaurant is scheduled to open this fall.

According to a release, Mark, a one-time teen pop idol whose vast and illustrious career includes starring in films such as Boogie Nights and Rock Star, as well as creating and producing such celebrated HBO series as Entourage, Ballers, and Boardwalk Empire, attended the Dallas Cowboys training camp on Saturday to make a splashy announcement.

"We are all huge sports fans, and to be able to open our first Texas location in tandem with a legendary organization like the Dallas Cowboys is icing on the cake," he said.

Chef Paul's menu features an emphasis on made-to-order, high-quality, delicious food that represents a selection of his family's favorite dishes they shared together. The brothers’ favorite burgers include:

Donnie's choice: BBQ Bacon Burger, described as a "spiced-up weekend barbecue on a bun," topped with white cheddar cheese, bacon, avocado, fresh jalapeños, and barbecue sauce.
Mark's choice: Thanksgiving Day, "like Thanksgiving leftovers on a bun," made with fresh ground seasoned turkey, stuffing, Paul's house made orange-cranberry sauce, roasted butternut squash, and mayo.
Paul's choice: Wahlburger's signature Our Burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, government cheese, Paul’s signature Wahl sauce and pickles “just like Dad used to grill in the backyard.”

There are also sloppy joes, sandwiches, tater tots, and "Wahlbowls." Plus a full-service bar with cocktails, wine, and beer, including the signature Wahlbrewski, a custom-brewed, unfiltered Pale Ale from Boston-based Harpoon Brewery.

Wahl everything.

The decor is filled with photos and memories celebrating the brothers' life journeys from Dorchester neighborhood kids to rising chef and international superstars.

Wahlburgers has 32 locations throughout North America and the U.K. In 2018, Wahlburgers launched an at-home retail beef product, which is sold in thousands of stores throughout the U.S.

burgers

Bagel News

Buzzy Northeast chain PopUp Bagels ready to debut in Dallas

PopUp Bagels

PopUp Bagels coming to Dallas.

A buzzy bagel concept founded in the Northeast is coming to Dallas: Called PopUp Bagels, it famously started as a backyard project during the pandemic, and will open a location at Inwood Village, in the former I Heart Yogurt shop (which only just closed), next to the Inwood Theatre at 5450 W Lovers Ln. #143.

Signage has already gone up on the location and according to a spokesperson, the shop will open in early spring.

PopUp Bagels was founded in Westport, Connecticut by entrepreneur and home baker Adam Goldberg, with his cousin Jeff Lewis, as a side project during the pandemic, when everyone was baking at home. The bagels earned such a warm reception that Goldberg started hosting bagel popups in various locations near his home.

The concept's success has been helped by a national surge of interest in bagels, as well as viral moments on TikTok and other social media. Goldberg sold the concept to equity growth firm Stripes in 2023, who drew celebrity investors such as Paul Rudd and Michael Phelps, with plans to open hundreds of locations across the U.S. Talk is cheap but for now, there are 23 locations in New York, Maine, Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, and North Carolina.

One of their selling points for a seamless expansion is that they've kept things simple including a compact menu of bagels, spreads, and a pound of smoked salmon. There's a minimum purchase of three bagels, along with a mandatory tub of cream cheese or butter, for $12, and they only offer five flavors: plain, salt, poppy, sesame, and everything.

Bagels are sold whole only, no sandwiches and also not sliced — leading to their nickname "rip and dip," in which customers rip the bagels and dip them into spreads. Their texture is softer and lighter than the classic New York dense bagel, making them easier to "rip."

They're also known for their collaborations on over-the-top schmear flavors — beyond their regular original cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, and vegan cream cheese — which they rotate in with frequency. Recent specialty schmears include Honey Chipotle Cream Cheese, Salted Maple Banana Bread Schmear, Cheez-It Schmear, and a Lemon Pepper Schmear just announced with WingStop that summons the wing chain's Lemon Pepper sauce.

bagels openings