Mark Wahlberg's Family Burger Chain Refutes Reports Of Financial Issues
After the New York Post reported that the closure of Wahlburgers' Coney Island location was due to companywide financial troubles, the CEO of the celebrity-owned burger chain is fighting back.
According to the site, sources revealed to reporters that the Coney Island location of Mark Wahlberg's family's burger chain closed due to rent not being paid. It was also reported that the Times Square location is unable to be opened due to a financial issue. The post received a lot of attention that resulted in Rick Vanzura, the CEO of Wahlburgers, posting a response to the commotion via LinkedIn.
In his response, Vanzura attempted to clarify that the media confusion over their alleged financial issues was due to an original statement regarding the closure being ignored. "The original article implied there were financial issues with the business and completely ignored a statement we provided prior to the article's publication setting the record straight," he wrote. "The reporter subsequently amended the article to partially include our statement, but the damage was done."
The original statement that they provided had said that Wahlburgers closed its Coney Island restaurant due to the franchisee not cooperating in compliance with Wahlburgers business practices and brand standards.
"What the Coney Island situation demonstrates is that we won't tolerate locations to be operated below brand standards," Vanzura blogged. "That is why we closed Coney Island."
The celebrity-owned chain currently has 17 locations and recently announced a partnership with Hy-vee.
The Wahlbergs are not the only celebrity family to own a restaurant. Check out these 13 celebrity-owned restaurants around the world.