Wahlburgers Greektown Closed?

**401don** · January-25-23, 06:11 PM

It says temporarily closed on google maps but their website no longer has them listed. Are any others left in metro Detroit?

**Danny** · January-25-23, 10:13 PM

Wahlburger's is already doomed. I will miss those fancy burgers.

**Gistok** · January-25-23, 11:17 PM

On the company website they list only 1 Michigan location... Grand Rapids. So yes... the Detroit location appears to be history...

https://wahlburgers.com/location-details/usa-mi

**Henry Whalley** · January-26-23, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by 401don

Are any others left in metro Detroit?

I hate corporate restaurants second only to Hamtramck Nazis.
Besides isn't Mark Wahlberg a bully racist SOB? And OMG when are we going to admit that Greektown no longer exists?

Mark Wahlberg - Wikipedia

**mkd** · January-26-23, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Henry Whalley

I hate corporate restaurants second only to Hamtramck Nazis.
Besides isn't Mark Wahlberg a bully racist SOB? And OMG when are we going to admit that Greektown no longer exists?

Mark Wahlberg - Wikipedia

We need a Wikipedia-style website for the tracking of racist acts so you can be fully up-to-date on who is racist and be the best virtue signaler ever.

Anyway, they opened a Wahlburgers in Royal Oak so I thought they were doing well, but that's apparently closed as well.

**Henry Whalley** · January-26-23, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by mkd

We need a Wikipedia-style website...

What you mean "we" white man?

What you mean "Wikipedia-style" website? Fake facts encyclopedia?

**Rocket** · January-26-23, 01:31 PM

Originally Posted by mkd

Anyway, they opened a Wahlburgers in Royal Oak so I thought they were doing well, but that's apparently closed as well.

I ate there [[13 and Woodward location) 2-3 times.

Burgers were great tasting, though the patty was a bit small. So the next time I ordered a double. That was just right, though a bit pricey.

Tried a shake once, and that was a bit odd. Made from a mix that had a slightly chemical taste.

Factoring in the cost once you add a second patty, and the time it takes to get the food, it's a bit more time and money than I can afford for lunch. So I haven't been back.

That said, I'm itching for one of those burgers with the sauteed jalapeno peppers in it right about now. Dang this thread.

**K-slice** · January-26-23, 02:32 PM

Bring back the Laikon Cafe!

**stasu1213** · January-26-23, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by Henry Whalley

I hate corporate restaurants second only to Hamtramck Nazis.
Besides isn't Mark Wahlberg a bully racist SOB? And OMG when are we going to admit that Greektown no longer exists?

Mark Wahlberg - Wikipedia

Sounds like an excuse for all non black restaurants to be closed in Detroit

**Henry Whalley** · January-26-23, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

Bring back the Laikon Cafe!

A personal favorite.

**Henry Whalley** · January-26-23, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

Sounds like an excuse for all non black restaurants to be closed in Detroit

Why? There are lots of privately-owned restaurants in Detroit. Are you serious?

**Kathleen** · January-26-23, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

Bring back the Laikon Cafe!

Couldn't agree more!! It was our go-to restaurant in Greektown!

**softailrider** · January-26-23, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by Rocket

I ate there [[13 and Woodward location) 2-3 times.

Burgers were great tasting, though the patty was a bit small. So the next time I ordered a double. That was just right, though a bit pricey.

Tried a shake once, and that was a bit odd. Made from a mix that had a slightly chemical taste.

Factoring in the cost once you add a second patty, and the time it takes to get the food, it's a bit more time and money than I can afford for lunch. So I haven't been back.

That said, I'm itching for one of those burgers with the sauteed jalapeno peppers in it right about now. Dang this thread.

I ate at the Royal Oak location twice. I thought it was pretty good. At the end I think the novelty wore off and business wasn’t good. Every time I drove by the place seemed nearly empty.

**carlscomputers** · January-26-23, 05:04 PM

Originally Posted by K-slice

Bring back the Laikon Cafe!

Takes me back to the days when I used to work at Pegasus Wax Sculptures, and I could spend $8 to $10, get full and have enough for the next day!

Why does a chain like Chick-fil-A have a line wrapped around the building no matter when you go, and another chain like Whalburger crashes and burns after a few years?

**Zacha341** · January-26-23, 05:16 PM

^ Yep. I am kinda done with the obligatory $16.99+ solo hamburger-to-go scene that's become standard post COVID. I don't mind spending when I dine out, or for the better takeaway options beyond burger king of course but pricing has gotten out of hand [burger wise].

**Zacha341** · January-26-23, 05:21 PM

I noticed that too. I think the high-cost was a factor! Even for Royal Oak.

Originally Posted by softailrider

...At the end I think the novelty wore off and business wasn’t good. Every time I drove by the place seemed nearly empty.

**401don** · January-26-23, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by carlscomputers

Why does a chain like Chic-Filet have a line wrapped around the building no matter when you go, and anothe chain like Whalburger crashes and burns after a few years?

Let's face it, a decent burger is a decent burger and there are 10 burger joints for every chicken fast food outlet although I do think chic-filet is has a unique, decent quality offering at its price point. I wonder if Shake Shack and Wahlburgers had swapped locations which one would have closed.

**dtowncitylover** · January-26-23, 06:35 PM

Originally Posted by carlscomputers

Why does a chain like Chic-Filet have a line wrapped around the building no matter when you go, and anothe chain like Whalburger crashes and burns after a few years?

Because Chick-fil-A has a certain cultural cache going back 75 years. Wahlburger is another celebrity restaurant gimmick.

**Henry Whalley** · January-26-23, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Couldn't agree more!! It was our go-to restaurant in Greektown!

IIRC when seated in Laikon's front window booth, one witnessed a parade of bookies, bagmen, enforcers, etc., visiting an establishment directly across Monroe Street. So considerate of the city to allow free fifteen-minute parking in the drop zone.

P.S. My other favorites were the New Hellas and International.

**stasu1213** · January-26-23, 09:14 PM

Mark Wahlberg probably had bitten off more than he could chew and the cost of having a national franchise was overwhelming

**Richard** · January-26-23, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

Mark Wahlberg probably had bitten off more than he could chew and the cost of having a national franchise was overwhelming

They are international franchises.

They are closing locations all across the country and in the UK permanently,mostly blamed on corona but across the country reads store closings for health violations 800 miles long,violations are a part of the game but when stores are shut down because of it even more so franchises,they have a systematic problem they they clearly are not addressing.

A few lawsuits going on that are not helping matters.

Franchise costs

Chick-fil-A: $10,000
In order to open a Chick-fil-A franchise, you must have a net worth of more than $350,000.

McDonald’s: $45,000
Taco Bell: $45,000
Chipotle: $20,000
Dunkin’: $40,000
Wendy’s: $40,000

The estimated investment required to open a Wahlburgers Franchise is between $1,680,000-$2,885,000. There is an initial franchise fee of $40,000 which grants you the license to run a business under the Wahlburgers name.

You have to have a net worth of 5 million to be even considered.

So compared to chick fil a who actually purchases the land and builds the building and has a yearly store revenues exceeding 3.5 million per year minimum.

The highest non mall location for chick fil a 2020 was over $17 million in revenue with the lowest bringing in 3.5 million per location.

Yearly sales for Chick Fil A $13.7 billion - Wahlburger $500 million

So you can kinda see the bigger picture and who has the winning franchise formula that works.

I just used Chick Fil A as an example but most of the others have the same results.

Wahlburger per store revenues are hard to find for some reason but with the overall company revenues it does not appear to be much comparatively to other franchises that require far less to get into and provide a comfortable if not insane return on investment.
I guess you could say they seem pretty proud of the name even though it is not providing the return,hense the closing.
I have a customer that sells burgers in a similar fashion,not a franchise and along the same price structure and was pulling in $60k a month at a mall location.
They are also doing close to $400k a year with the same concept out of a food truck and I am helping them open up 3 more locations on a $30,000 original investment.
They have a special hamburger club outside of the regular menu where people pay over $75 PER hamburger,it does come with fries though.
The moral of that is,a hard working individual can have the exact same results without having to franchise,lots are doing it.

I have zero clue as to why it keeps putting the little dots

Back in the 80s I used to do all the buildouts and maintenance for the local Subway franchise,they were required to purchase territory for the franchise and were also required to open so many locations per year.

It got to the point where they were buying out mom n pop sub shops at insane prices just to dominate the market and open stores to meet the franchise requirements.

That’s how Subway rapidly fueled growth and gained market share as a franchise.
but it came back to haunt them.

So if one starts out with a lot of cash and opens multiple locations without knowing anything about the business they can have a good return,like in this case if you are an individual with a limited amount of funds and you are going to look at franchising one location,it does not work as you can see in this case because there are lots of more productive options.

**carlscomputers** · January-27-23, 12:39 AM

Thanks Richard! Very informative & enlightning!

**Zacha341** · January-27-23, 07:43 AM

Indeed a great deal of cost is cast down upon those expensive burgers.

Yet the food service business is precarious, depending on many factors.

**Zacha341** · January-27-23, 07:46 AM

How about that! I usually avoid 'celebrity' branded food service. Sometimes over-hyped, over-priced, and under-whelming as time goes on from what may have been a good start!

Originally Posted by dtowncitylover

Because Chick-fil-A has a certain cultural cache going back 75 years. Wahlburger is another celebrity restaurant gimmick.

**sirrealone** · January-27-23, 08:12 AM

In the mid-2010's, there was a wave of 'specialty' burger joints. It seemed like you could find a new one opening within a stone's throw. I think the market just got oversaturated. Before that it was specialty cupcakes.