CABAZON, CA — Actor/producer Mark Wahlberg is a regular visitor to Riverside County, and he recently made another appearance.
On Wednesday, June 17, the 54-year-old celebrity mingled with guests at Wahlburgers, his family’s namesake fast-casual restaurant at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon.
Wahlberg joked with starstruck fans, posed for selfies, traded hugs, and shared stories with patrons and Wahlburgers’ employees. He later posted a video of the visit to his official Instagram page.
Founded by brothers Mark, Donnie, and Executive Chef Paul, the Wahlburgers chain was established in 2011 in Hingham, Massachusetts, near Boston. The region is where the Wahlberg family planted its roots.
The Morongo Wahlburgers location at 49500 Seminole Drive opened in 2021 and features a stage for live music and a 30-foot video wall where guests can catch their favorite sports events while partaking in the Wahlburgers family-favorite burgers, sandwiches, hoagies, wings and shakes.
There are just three other California Wahlburgers locations, according to the eatery’s website: Jamestown, Los Angeles, and Oroville.
“We’re delighted to have welcomed Mr. Wahlberg back to Morongo for another visit to the first Wahlburgers in the nation to open in a tribal casino,” said Morongo’s Chief Executive Officer Mike Bean. “It just goes to show that you never know what celebrity you’ll bump into next at Morongo.”
Besides opening a restaurant and making surprise drop-bys, Wahlberg is no stranger to Morongo, which served as the backdrop for scenes in his 2014 film, “The Gambler.”
“Our guests were beyond thrilled to meet Mr. Wahlberg, and I suspect this won’t be the last time he pops in to spend some time at Morongo,” Bean said.
It isn’t the first time Mark Wahlberg has made a Riverside County appearance. In 2022, he was spotted in Southwest Riverside County checking out area gyms. Last year, he visited a church in Temecula.
Mark Wahlberg does get around. His restaurant was the subject of A&E Network’s Emmy-nominated 10-season reality show, “Wahlburgers,” which premiered in 2014. It was about the restaurant and the lives of the Wahlberg family.
