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Waldy, 29, and Kevin Salinas, 25, who own "Mob Pizzeria & Burgers" on Hackensack Street in Wood-Ridge, are opening their second location Main Street in Hackensack sometime in March.
The brothers' parents moved their family to Hackensack from El Salvador when they were young. Kevin and Waldy both graduated from Hackensack High School, and went on to work in the restaurant industry right after graduation: Waldy in the kitchen at Oak Ale House in Maywood, and Kevin down the street at Maywood Marketplace.
The brothers gleaned a lot from their years working in the restaurant industry, so when the space on Hackensack Street opened up, they knew they'd have a shot at success on their own as a pizzeria.
They opened their restaurant as "Jersey Pizza" together in Summer 2016, when the landlord, a good friend of theirs, was looking for a new tenant.
Then, a few months later, the same landlord — who owned "Mob Burgers" around the corner — said he'd be closing his restaurant, but asked the Salinas brothers if they'd be interested in taking it over.
That's when they combined the pizza and burger concept, renaming the joint "Mob Burger."
"That's when everything changed," Waldy said.
Customers went nuts over the burgers, which all are named after mob movies: The Goodfella Burger, Loaded tony Soprano Mac & Cheese Burger, and "El Chapo" Shrimp Mac & Cheese Burger are just a few.
They continued selling pizza and other creations with their own twists, such as lobster mac 'n' cheese, an array of fried tater tots in Mob Burger sauces, over-the-top shakes, and of course, their famous fried cheesecake.
"People were coming all the way from New York to try our food," Kevin tells Daily Voice.
Things were going even better than expected, for Waldy.
"It was a dream come true," Waldy said. "That's what every business owner wants, to be successful.
"It was tough in the beginning," he said. "I was here 24/7, cooking, working 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. But things paid off."
The Salinas brothers at one point stopped promoting their business on social media because they were too busy as it was. They were fortunate in that they didn't take much of a hit during the pandemic.
"We were so busy I was going to restaurant depot twice a day sometimes," said Waldy, who stayed open for the entirety of the pandemic. Last June, he bought his family a house in Wood-Ridge.
So, when a landlord in Hackensack reached out to the Salinas brothers in early 2023, asking if they'd be interested in taking over a space on Main Street, Kevin and Waldy gave him a confident "Yes."
That restaurant will be called "Mob Pizzeria & Burger," and the Wood-Ridge location will see a name change, too.
The menu will be largely the same: Pizzas, salads, burgers, sandwiches, wings mac 'n' cheese, and "a lot of desserts," Waldy said.
Waldy is hoping that the new restaurant will help his mom and siblings.
"I feel I've accomplished everything I want in my life," he said. "Now I want to help my family."
Mob Pizzeria & Burgers, 306 Main St., Hackensack; 200 Hackensack St., Wood-Ridge.
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