Wahlburgers Prepares for Dorchester Homecoming

A growing burger empire from a group of famous brothers debuts its newest restaurant this week in Dorchester. Wahlburgers opens December 20 at the South Bay development (9 District Ave., Boston), and it will have a public celebration Monday, December 17, outside the new restaurant.

This marks a homecoming of sorts for Wahlberg brothers Mark, Donnie, and Paul, who grew up in Dorchester and will now bring their burger chain home in grand fashion, with a 5,000-square-foot restaurant, seven years after opening its first location in Hingham and later expanding to around 30 locations, documenting the process on a reality television show — also called Wahlburgers — that began in 2014.

With ample seating, the Dorchester Wahlburgers features a “family table,” which has different furniture than elsewhere in the restaurant, giving a nod to the Wahlberg family, whose family photos appear in collage form in a portion of the restaurant.

Though the formal public opening will follow later this week, the pre-opening celebration on December 17 will feature the Wahlburgers food truck and apparel sales, with a portion of the proceeds going towards the Martin Richard Foundation. The restaurant will also collect unwrapped toy donations for the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester.

”We are so excited to join our friends and family and welcome home Wahlburgers to the Dorchester South Bay Shopping Center. This has been a long time coming,” said Mark Wahlberg in a release.

Wahlburgers has locations all around the country and in Canada, with aggressive United Kingdom expansion plans in the works as well. (There has also been talk of massive expansion through Asia and the Middle East, although those plans haven’t yet come to fruition.)

The Dorchester restaurant will serve the chain’s familiar menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads, fries, onion rings, and tater tots. It also has a liquor license and will serve a selection of local beers on tap, in addition to frappes (boozy and non-boozy) and ice cream floats.

Wahlburgers is one of several restaurants opening this year at South Bay. Midici (a Neapolitan-style pizzeria), Totto (a ramen shop), Gyu-Kaku (a Japanese barbecue chain), and Grill 110 (a quickly expanding local chain) are in the works as well.

Update, 12/20/18: This article has been updated to reflect today’s opening date.

• Wahlburgers Coverage on Eater [EBOS]