The restaurant shared the news in a Facebook post, also teasing a new location nearby
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/walhburgers-st-charles-063026-4620f3bb5bdb4da7867ace0ba99a8e43.jpg "Wahlburgers St. Charles")
Credit: Wahlburgers (St. Charles)/Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- The Wahlburgers St. Charles location announced it was closing on June 29, effective the same day as its lease ended
- Donnie Wahlberg shared plans for a new location nearby, calling it “Clubhouse 2.0”
- The restaurant temporarily featured the Blue Bloods dining table, with proceeds benefiting police families and a local cancer center
A Wahlburgers location with a key tie to owner Donnie Wahlberg has closed.
The St. Charles, Ill. location of the fast-casual chain owned by the Wahlberg brothers, which housed the Blue Bloods dining table, announced the closure in a Facebook post on June 29, the same day that the location shut down after its lease ended.
“It is with heavy hearts and fond memories that we announce Wahlburgers St. Charles will be permanently closing our doors on June 29, 2026 as our current lease at this location has come to an end,” the restaurant wrote in the caption of the post.
“We can't wait to welcome you back to our new location, more info coming soon!” the brand promised.
The post also thanked the store's “beloved patrons” for their “support.”
Representatives for Wahlburgers could not immediately be reached by PEOPLE for comment.
Donnie Wahlberg, who owns the brand along with his brothers Mark Wahlberg and Paul Wahlberg and who lives in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles with his wife Jenny McCarthy, shared a tribute to the location on his Instagram Stories.
Credit: Wahlburgers (St. Charles)/Facebook
“Dear Blockheads & Customers,” Wahlberg addressed his New Kids on the Block fans and restaurant customers, “As one door closes, another always opens.”
“Sadly, we will be closing the doors of the St Charles Clubhouse. We've done our best to keep it going – since the second IL covid shutdown, which we never truly recovered from, but fought the fight anyway. 🙏💔🥺,” he continued.
The actor then teased another new location opening — “luckily, we have an amazing new (yet very familiar) opportunity/location to do Clubhouse 2.0! COMING SOON!”
“I'm so grateful to every person who entered those doors. To every person I got to take a selfie with. To every employee. To every vendor. To you all! I cannot thank you enough,” he wrote of the closed St. Charles location. “I look forward to seeing you there – in a most historic (and very familiar) location."
“Love you all. See you soon,” Wahlberg signed off.
The Daily Herald reported that higher food and fuel costs impacted profits at the location, and that the restaurant had tried, unsuccessfully, to get a rent reduction, per one of the three franchise owners along with Wahlberg, Ed French.
“It was sure a sad day,” French told the outlet, adding that the restaurant worked with the landlord on Friday, June 26, to break the lease. “There's no bad blood.”
French also reiterated Wahlberg's comments, telling the outlet that they plan to open another location in the Chicago suburb. He said he doesn't know where or when the new location would open but said it may have a patio and "Blockheads" stage.
The St. Charles location temporarily held the Blue Bloods Regan family dining table, offering the chance for fans to dine at the storied prop.
Wahlberg, who starred in Blue Bloods alongside Tom Selleck and Bridget Moynahan in the show's 14 seasons, announced in a Feb. 25, 2025 Instagram post that the location would temporarily house the pivotal prop from the show.
“This is the actual table with the actual stuff,” Wahlberg said in the video. “This is the actual glass that I drank out of on Blue Bloods and this is the actual chair that I sat in for 14 years of TV history making incredible memories with my castmates, and now it's your chance to come and make some incredible memories of your own.”
The proceeds from the dinners went to the Detectives' Endowment Association's Widows' and Children's Fund, which supports the families of New York police officers who died in the line of duty, along with Northwestern Medicine's Cancer Center Delnor, Wahlberg said.