Wednesday, January 25, 2023

[UPDATE] Wahlburgers Quietly Closed its Downtown Atlanta Restaurant

Less than three years after opening, Wahlburgers has closed their downtown Atlanta restaurant.   Located at 218 Peachtree Street, Wahlburgers opened their downtown outpost in January 2020 just two months before the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry.   The Wahlburgers shared a portion of the onetime Planet Hollywood with a Chase Bank that remains open.  The company did not reveal the reason for the closure.  

Protests over the controversial shooting of a "Cop City" protester spilled into downtown Atlanta this past weekend highlighted by an Atlanta Police Department vehicle being set ablaze right outside Wahlburgers.  While some may be quick to assume that Saturday's incident led to the restaurant's closure, online reports suggest that Wahlburgers has in fact been closed since this past October! 

The Boston-based burger franchise is owned by chef Paul and actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg.

The downtown Atlanta outpost is among several units the chain has closed in recent years.  

Wahlburgers in Milwaukee's Third Ward closed its doors this past weekend, according to Hy-Vee, the regional supermarket that is also the restaurant's largest franchisee.  Hy-Vee cited the "changing nature of the restaurant business combined with staffing challenges," as reasoning for the closure.  Hy-Vee says that going forward they will only open new Wahlburgers restaurants at Hy-Vee locations.   There are currently 61 Wahlburgers restaurants at Hy-Vee locations throughout eight states, with 20 additional locations planned for this year.  

Following years of closures of restaurants outside of the Hy-Vee partnership, the grocery chain today accounts for nearly two thirds of Wahlburgers locations nationwide.  

In downtown Raleigh, Wahlburgers closed their restaurant in December 2018 just seven months after it opened. 

During the summer of 2020, the company shuttered what were then its only two Florida locations, in Orlando, before returning to the Sunshine State in August (2020) with a new opening in Key West.  

2020 also brought the closure of the Walburgers at the OWA Amusement Park in Foley, Alabama.  

The company also closed a roughly three year old restaurant in West Hollywood in December 2021 and a roughly five year old restaurant in Palo Alto this past November.  

A second Wahlburgers at The Battery Atlanta which opened with the overall Braves development in 2017 is now the lone outpost of the chain in Georgia.  

Despite the excitement surrounding the South Downtown and Centennial Yards developments downtown, several big name businesses have closed or are rumored to be closing their downtown locations. Arby’s closed their relatively new location at 34 Peachtree Street in 2020 as did the Braves All Star Grill, a sports bar at 200 Peachtree operated by Goldberg's Group.  News this week suggests that Walgreens may be looking to close their landmark location at 25 Peachtree Street, too.   

Are you surprised to see the businesses depart downtown as a new wave of investment and development comes to the area?  Did you ever go to Wahlburgers?  What kinds of restaurants or businesses would you like to see open in downtown Atlanta?

Please share your thoughts below.  

20 comments:

Jonathan said...

I literaly thought that place had never opened because of covid. Never saw someone go through the door and worked 1/2 mile away pre-covid.

Anonymous said...

I wouldn’t notice if anything Downtown closed. Restaurant wasteland.

Anonymous said...

Not surprising, whenever I was downtown I would see people go to the Hard Rock or Gus Fried Chicken but hardly anyone went into Wahlburgers.

Anonymous said...

And it was right by where the riots were.

Alex said...

The Hard Rock Cafe is still in Downtown? Wow, I thought it closed down maybe 20 years ago....LOL

Anonymous said...

I have been several times at the battery and each time I have regretted it. Overpriced and nothing special. Bye! Hard rock has a better burger. Not surprised about businesses leaving downtown. The city has gone down hill and crime is increasing.

Anonymous said...

No hat tip to my anonymous comment on the prior post for letting you know it was closed? By the way, location is key, but the burgers are meh and they don’t even include a side.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon RE: H/T,

Always happy to give credit but hard to give "credit" to "anonymous."

Thanks for the tip!

Anonymous said...

Every time I go anywhere downtown I am repulsed by how filthy, congested, sleazy and "un-diverse" it has become. Hard to believe anything but a strip club or a hookah lounge can survive.

Anonymous said...

Downtown is quickly turning into a high rent, high crime stereotypical mess. I wish the ITP-ers would stay and aggressively fix their problems instead of moving out to the burbs. Unfortunately, when you "blue-up" an area, you pretty much get the same results every time. The current mayor is trying to get a handle on things, though. That's a nice change. I went to that location one time. It was indeed kind of "meh".

Alex said...

Hat tip to the omnipresent and omniscient "Anonymous." You are a gentleman and a scallop!

Anonymous said...

I work a couple of blocks away and go out for lunch every day that I'm in the office (now 3x per week). I tried Wahlburgers shortly after it opened and never went back. The dining area, service and everything else was fine but the food was average at best; even with the limited choices downtown there are several better burger options close buy. I was wondering this week how long they could hang on, not realizing the answer had been around since October!

Anonymous said...

So sad downtown Atlanta has become so undesirable and dangerous, I can’t remember the last time I was downtown but it’s been atleast seven or eight years and I’m living in Buckhead.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous @ 12:04; look around you, Buckhead is rapidly becoming exactly like downtown.

Anonymous said...

Yes that’s why I’m moving to Milton in a few weeks. Goodbye Buckhead.

Anonymous said...

you could at least acknowledge you didn't find out on your own

Anonymous said...

Why are people saying so much crime downtown? You do know crime rates when down in 2022 compared to 2021? It spiked a bit after COVID in 2020 and 2021 but now it's around pre-2020 levels. Downtown's Underground is getting a complete renovation and also the $5 billion Centennial Yards project is going up, if you have the extra money, you should buy property in downtown while it's cheap and a bargain. Prices will go up 2x or more in the next 5 years.

Anonymous said...

Downtown Atlanta is a dump.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous 3:14, no poster here is talking about crime downtown. It's the point that downtown is a one-dimensional ghetto of freaks, filth and grifters.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous 8:56 Not really. Downtown is 99% office workers and Georgia State Students.

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