PHILADELPHIA−Wahlburgers is hungry for space in the Philadelphia area, where it plans to bring five of its fast casual burger restaurants in the next several years.

The franchise group is actively looking at sites now, with a goal of opening its first restaurant in the area later this year. Brandon Famous of CBRE/FAMECO is handling real estate site selection.

The burger eatery, founded in Boston by brothers Mark, Donnie, and Paul Wahlberg, is the subject of a new A&E documentary series. It is in the midst of expansion in Boston and Toronto, as well as in doing site selection in this area. The company's partners in Toronto plan a grand opening for the first restaurant in that city this summer.

The restaurants' unique “retro-modern décor” is designed to symbolize the brothers' life trajectories, they say: from Dorchester neighborhood kids to rising chefs and media stars. Both fast food and table service are offered at Wahlburgers, with a menu of made-to-order fresh ground beef burgers, pure beef hot dogs, crispy fries, onion rings, tater tots and specialty frappes.

At the original restaurant at The Launch at Hingham Shipyard,the sound system playing multi-genre hits is part of the experience. (Donnie started out in the '80s in the boy group “New Kids on the Block” and later was the frontman for Marky Mark.)

Filming for an 18-episode second season of the A&E show, “Wahlburgers,” is slated to begin in May.

“We have spent the last two years carefully developing a successful and repeatable restaurant with our Hingham location, and we are now ready to begin expanding the business and the brand,” said Rick Vanzura, CEO of Wahlburgers. “We continue to look for partners and multi-unit operators that can help us expand into new markets in a way that upholds the strength and standards of the Wahlberg brand.”

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