Wahlburgers will close its Fenway restaurant at 132 Brookline Ave. in Boston on Halloween, ending an 11-year run in the neighborhood. The shutdown marks the third Massachusetts closure for the Wahlberg family's burger chain in roughly 18 months, following shuttered locations in Hingham and Lynnfield.
According to MassLive, Wahlburgers said in an Instagram post that the Fenway restaurant's lease is ending and will not be renewed. The company said it plans to pursue a new location in the Boston area, and thanked Fenway customers, saying it hoped to see them before October 31.
The Fenway closure comes just a month after Wahlburgers shut down its original restaurant in Hingham. That location, at 19 Shipyard Drive, opened in 2011 and closed in late September after nearly 15 years in business, as cbsnews.com reported. Wahlburgers said in that announcement that its lease there was coming to an end and that it was actively looking for a new Boston-area home.
A String of Massachusetts Closures
Before Hingham, Wahlburgers closed its Lynnfield location at MarketStreet. MassLive's report on that closure pins the date to April 27, 2025, with the company saying the lease had expired and that it was unable to negotiate an equitable extension.
Once the Fenway doors close, Wahlburgers will still have four other Massachusetts locations: restaurants in Springfield and Plainville, plus two stands inside Boston Logan International Airport, per cbsnews.com's reporting. The chain was founded by Mark Wahlberg, Donnie Wahlberg and executive chef Paul Wahlberg, a Wahlberg family with roots in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and the brand spent several years as the subject of its own reality television show.
Downsizing, Then a Pivot to Airports and Big-Box Stores
The Massachusetts closures are unfolding against a much larger contraction. Wahlburgers closed 79 locations inside Hy-Vee grocery stores during a major downsizing, according to a MassLive report, which left the chain with approximately 34 locations. That same report noted Wahlburgers had airport locations at Boston Logan, Detroit Metropolitan and Toronto Pearson, and that company locations in downtown Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Taylor have all closed since 2020.
Rather than retreat, Wahlburgers is now betting on nontraditional venues. Restaurant Dive reports the chain is accelerating growth in 2026 through retail hubs, airports and hotels, and a PRNewswire release detailed an off-premise trailer format launched outside select Home Depot locations, with the first three open in Rockledge, Stuart and Vero Beach, Florida. The same release said Wahlburgers planned a Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport location for February 2026, plus Bass Pro Shops locations in Irvine, California, and Sayreville, New Jersey.
What's Next for Boston
Wahlburgers has said it hopes to share more about a new Boston-area home soon, though the company has not identified a specific site.
For now, the Fenway restaurant's closing leaves Wahlburgers with a smaller Massachusetts footprint than it has had in years, even as the company expands its presence nationally with locations in 15 states as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, according to MassLive's earlier reporting on the Lynnfield closure. Wahlburgers has expressed gratitude to customers who joined the chain for game days, celebrations and everyday moments, and the company has said simply that it is just getting started.
