St. Charles will be restaurant chain's first Illinois location
ST. CHARLES – A Wahlburgers is coming soon to St. Charles, the first location in Illinois for the celebrity Wahlberg family's restaurant chain.
![[Actor Donnie Wahlburg visited the St. Charles City Council on June 4 to discuss bringing a Wahlburgers restaurant to St. Charles. The City Council voted in favor of the project.]
Construction of the restaurant is expected to begin this summer at the southwest corner of Route 38 and Randall Road on an outlot of the Meijer store property.
The City Council on June 4 voted in favor of the project.](fd1568aa-ac93-4844-9e5f-1d4fcc2c7c85/image-pv_web.jpg)
[Actor Donnie Wahlburg visited the St. Charles City Council on June 4 to discuss bringing a Wahlburgers restaurant to St. Charles. The City Council voted in favor of the project.]
Construction of the restaurant is expected to begin this summer at the southwest corner of Route 38 and Randall Road on an outlot of the Meijer store property.
The City Council on June 4 voted in favor of the project.
[(From left) Student Jillian Sanchez stands with actor Donnie Wahlburg and St. Charles East High School teacher Jim Baratta. Baratta received the City of St. Charles Citizens Award on June 4. He performed the Heimlich maneuver, dislodging a food particle, and cleared Sanchez's airway and restored her breathing.]
We're very proud and happy that Wahlburgers will be here in St. Charles,” Mayor Ray Rogina said.
Wahlburgers is owned by the Wahlberg brothers, Donnie and Mark, who are actors, and Paul, a chef.
[A rendering of the now approved Wahlburgers to be located at the southwest corner of Route 38 and Randall Road on an outlot of the Meijer store property.]
The restaurant was made famous by their A&E reality show and has locations in 16 states.
Donnie Wahlberg said he doesn't want the new restaurant in St. Charles to be just about celebrity, however.
“We really want to do more than just make a big splash,” he said. “We want to create jobs and reinvest in the community.”
[A rendering of the now approved Wahlburgers to be located at the southwest corner of Route 38 and Randall Road on an outlot of the Meijer store property.]
Donnie Wahlberg and his wife, entertainer Jenny McCarthy, own a house in St. Charles. With the green light from the city for the restaurant, he said he's happy to be able to “set up shop in a town that treats me like everyone else.”
He said the restaurant's focus will be “good food, good times and good memories.”
“We're going to do our best to make you proud,” he told city officials.
[A rendering of the now approved Wahlburgers to be located at the southwest corner of Route 38 and Randall Road on an outlot of the Meijer store property.]
The St. Charles restaurant will be the first Wahlburgers to be built from the ground up. The other Wahlburgers have opened in retrofitted buildings.
Plans for the full-service restaurant include a patio overlooking a pond with landscaped banks along Randall Road.