Downtown Raleigh Wahlburgers closes after seven months

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Downtown Raleigh's Wahlburgers restaurant is out of business after being open for only seven months.

The celebrity burger franchise, started by Mark, Donnie and Paul Wahlberg in their hometown of Boston, opened next door to the ABC11 newsroom on Fayetteville Street in May.

The restaurant is currently involved in a lawsuit but the property manager didn't elaborate on the details of the suit when talking to ABC11.

A Wake County Sheriff's Office sign that says "Do Not Enter" was placed in the window Friday morning.

Though the restaurant has had plumbing issues in recent weeks, that was not the reason behind the closure, the property manager said.

"The food was pretty good. The service was iffy. But the food was pretty good. I thought they were going to be here for a while," said Roland Denson, a downtown Raleigh employee who had planned to eat at Wahlburgers on Friday.

Last spring, Mark Wahlberg expressed enthusiasm about the Raleigh location.

"Our family is excited to open our first North Carolina restaurant in Raleigh, and we appreciate the opportunity to become part of the community," said Wahlberg.

Wahlburgers initially planned to open in early 2017, but construction was not finished until more than a year later. Early buzz surrounding the restaurant's first North Carolina location appeared to fade by the time the location finally opened.

ABC11 contacted the Carolina Burger Company, the franchisee, to learn more about the closing. We will update our reporting when we get a response.