When Randy Sharpe joined Wahlburgers as CEO two years ago, he inherited a brand with something most operators would kill for — a famous name and genuine celebrity energy behind it — but also something most operators dread: 17 different menus, inconsistent franchise execution, and a store count that looked better on paper than in practice. A culinary kiosk staffed by someone who couldn’t explain the menu was, as Sharpe put it bluntly on this week’s episode of Fast Casual Nation, “killing the brand.” The cleanup would take the better part of 18 months. But heading into 2026, Sharpe says corporate locations are up double digits in Q1, and the foundation is finally where it needs to be.
What makes Wahlburgers an unusual case study in brand revival is the origin story itself. Unlike most celebrity-affiliated restaurant concepts, this wasn’t a licensing deal built around a famous face. Mark Wahlberg is the majority owner, but the culinary identity of the brand was built by his brother Paul — a trained chef — and the family’s first restaurant together, the fine dining Italian concept Alma Nove in Boston, predates Wahlburgers by years. That context matters when you’re trying to defend a brand’s credibility. “The difference between Wahlburgers and most every other celebrity-driven brand,” Sharpe told hosts Paul Barron and Cherryh Cansler, “is this isn’t a ‘hey, I’ll put my name on it and get a royalty.’ This was started by the family with quality and intention.” Chef Paul remains the brand’s primary spokesperson and continues to drive menu innovation, while all three Wahlberg brothers — Mark, Donnie, and Paul — remain actively involved.
Sharpe’s first year was largely triage. He toured every location, audited every franchise relationship, and made a pivotal decision to exit a partnership with a grocery chain whose in-store kiosks were diluting the brand’s identity. Rather than simply walking away from the Mall of America full-service location tied to that deal, Wahlburgers acquired it and now runs it as a corporate restaurant. From there, Sharpe consolidated menus from 17 down to three, bought out underperforming franchise operators who weren’t willing to align with brand standards, and began redefining what Wahlburgers actually is — not just a burger concept, but a multi-format hospitality brand with four distinct growth platforms: full-service bar and grill, limited-service fast casual, captive venue operations (casinos, arenas, airports), and a non-traditional model that’s emerging as one of its strongest growth channels.
That non-traditional model is where the conversation gets particularly interesting for restaurant operators thinking about distribution strategy. Wahlburgers recently opened its first location at a Home Depot in Florida — a pilot that’s now expanding to 20 planned Florida locations and 20 in Nevada by year’s end. The setup, which features a small outdoor lounge environment with artificial turf in front of the store, isn’t a food court afterthought. It came out of a direct conversation between Sharpe, Mark Wahlberg, and Home Depot’s CEO, who had a mandate to bring legitimate food and beverage hospitality in front of his stores. Sharpe credits the success of the model to one critical distinction from the grocery experience: Wahlburgers operates these locations themselves. “I would never do that again with any partner where we don’t have oversight,” he said. The brand is also targeting 10 airports by year’s end through partnerships with Delaware North and SSP America, and has taken over operations at Bass Pro’s Big Cedar Lodge in Memphis — running the Wahlburgers on the ground floor, the hotel’s banquet facilities, and a fine dining restaurant called The Lookout at the top of the building’s iconic pyramid.
On the leadership side, Sharpe offered a candid and somewhat unexpected portrait of what it’s actually like to work with a major Hollywood star as a business partner. He described Mark Wahlberg as the most accessible owner he’s worked with in 30 years — easier to reach, he noted, than some of his former chairmen of the board. The relationship began years before the CEO role, at a small industry luncheon where Wahlberg sat down next to Sharpe and spent the whole conversation talking about his family rather than promoting anything. That authenticity, Sharpe said, is what made him willing to take six months getting to know the brand before committing to the job. His filter for every partnership and every franchise operator now mirrors what he found in that first meeting: willing and capable. “Why do you want to be in the restaurant business?” is one of the first questions he asks prospective franchisees — and the answer, he’s quick to note, cannot be “to meet Mark Wahlberg.”
Looking ahead, Sharpe is focused on what he describes as a strong five-year growth plan with partners already in place, including a new franchise operator set to open five locations in Puerto Rico. The brand is targeting north of 100 locations within two to three years, built the right way. There’s also a broader lifestyle play taking shape around the Wahlberg brand ecosystem — including a 50,000-square-foot municipal gym and wellness center coming to Summerlin, Nevada, with a café concept that could eventually connect to Wahlburgers’ food and beverage footprint. As high-protein eating continues to reshape fast casual menus across the industry, Sharpe acknowledged the category is a natural fit — though he’s characteristically measured about it, noting he only leans into trends that are well thought through. For an industry watching celebrity brand plays with justified skepticism, Wahlburgers’ slow, deliberate rebuild under Sharpe may be the most compelling proof of concept yet that a famous name, backed by genuine operational discipline, can actually work.
