Ep 1. Meat in the Middle

Wahlburgers is an American reality television series that follows the lives of the Wahlberg family, founders of the Wahlburgers restaurant chain. The show is named after the family's successful burger restaurant, which started in Hingham, Massachusetts.

Season 9 episode 1, titled "Meat in the Middle," explores the challenges of opening a new Wahlburgers location in St. Charles, Illinois. The episode begins with Mark, Donnie, and Paul Wahlberg traveling to St. Charles to check on the progress of the new restaurant. They are greeted by the new franchise owners, Greg and Darin, who are excited to have the famous family's restaurant in their town.

However, the guests quickly notice a major issue with the new location - the kitchen layout is much smaller than they anticipated. This poses a big problem for the Wahlberg brothers, who are known for their burgers and need a larger kitchen to meet demand. The brothers start brainstorming how they can make the kitchen work, and come up with an idea to create a custom grill that will fit in the limited space.

Meanwhile, Alma Wahlberg, the family matriarch, is back in Hingham working on a new dish for the menu. She wants to add a lobster roll to the menu, but is apprehensive about how it will be received by customers. She enlists the help of her grandson, Brandon, and together they experiment with different ingredients until they land on the perfect recipe. The two generations work together to create a dish that honors the family's New England roots and expands the restaurant's menu.

Back in St. Charles, the grill has arrived and the team gets to work installing it in the small kitchen. The process is not without its challenges, as they quickly realize that the grill is too big to fit in the building's small door. They have to take it apart and bring it in piece by piece, causing some concern about whether it will be put together correctly. But the team pulls it off and the new grill is ready to go.

As the restaurant nears its grand opening, the family travels back to St. Charles for a final inspection. They are impressed with the progress of the restaurant and excited to see how the new grill will perform. They decide to test it out by creating a new dish that features both beef and pork products, which they call "Meat in the Middle." The dish is a hit, and the family is thrilled that they were able to overcome the challenge of the small kitchen to make their signature burgers and more.

Overall, "Meat in the Middle" shows the Wahlberg family once again coming together to solve problems and expand their successful restaurant chain. They work with family members of different generations and new franchise owners to address issues and create new menu items. Fans of the show will enjoy seeing the family banding together once again to make Wahlburgers a success.