Thousands of people flocked to American Dream on Sunday in hopes of catching a glimpse of famous YouTuber MrBeast as he opened his first restaurant.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, opened the first physical location of MrBeast Burgers on the third floor of the mall. Started at the end of 2020, MrBeast Burger began as delivery-only via food delivery services.
Before the opening of Donaldson's brick-and-mortar restaurant, the food was made in ghost kitchens, where some restaurants allow the use of their kitchen and staff to produce a limited number of dishesand have a third-party delivery servicedo the rest.
The burgers themselves are modest, with two options: Beast Style or Chandler Style. The burgers are similar to smash burgers and are thin, crispy patties topped with American cheese and a bun. The Beast Style adds pickles, sliced white onions, mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. The fries are well-seasoned, with a nice kick coming from cayenne pepper.
All three levels of the mall were packed with people, some holding signs or wearing MrBeast merchandise, the queue wrapping around everywhere. There was a line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot.
Donaldson bounced around the restaurant, helping take orders and posing for photos with some of the people waiting in line. He didn't stay in one place long and declined to speak with NorthJersey.com. People screamed when they caught sight of him.
Paul Ghermezian, a spokesman for Triple 5, the company that owns American Dream, said there is an "immense desire" for Donaldson's burgers and that Donaldson and his MrBeast persona are amazing.
"He's created something truly wholesome and wonderful at the same time," Ghermezian said.
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Donaldson is well known for his stunts on his YouTube channel, often giving away huge sums of cash and big-ticket items like boats and cars.
Ghermezian said American Dream prides itself on having things other places don't have, from the only Toys R Us store to indoor skiing.
But the megamall has struggled since opening in 2019 despite its unique offerings, though the COVID-19 pandemic hurt business as well, Ghermezian said. The complex reported $60 million in losses last year, and developer Triple Five missed a $290 million debt payment last month.
Ghermezian said MrBeast was "blown away" when he toured the location, which he said is validation and a vote of confidence. Ghermezian said Sunday that people had been trickling in for MrBeast, with at least 2,000 coming in overnight.
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Victor Galvin, a YouTuber from Nebraska, drove 22 hours with friends, getting to American Dream on Friday and camping in the parking lot to be first in line. He brought a statue to give MrBeast, celebrating his 100 million views on YouTube.
"It was a long drive," Galvin said with a laugh.
And for Galvin, the long drive and multiple days of camping were worth it because of MrBeast.
"We just love what he does," Galvin said. "He gives back to the community, and it's just an awesome thing."
After the ribbon cutting, Galvin presented Donaldson with the statue before placing his order, and it was promptly displayed behind the cash register.
North Haledon resident Jason Hofer and his two sons, Andrew, 13, and Aaron, 10, said they began waiting in line at 5 p.m. Saturday. Hofer said his sons are big fans and he has caught some of the videos when his sons watch.
"It was a really cool experience," Hofer said. "We didn't expect to camp out and we sort of did it on a whim, and it was fun."
All three approved of the burgers, with Aaron giving it a thumbs-up.
The Hofers weren't the only ones enjoying the burgers. Garfield resident Gavin Grecco, 10, said he had tried the Chandler Style burger before and was excited to try the other burger. His mother, Gabrielle, said they drove around Brooklyn trying to find one of the ghost kitchens making the burgers.
Not only is Gavin a fan of MrBeast Burgers, he really enjoys how generous Donaldson is in his videos.
"He's so giving and so generous to other people," Gavin said.
Alec Rohrbach traveled from Edison with his fiancée to wait with his sister and nephew, Jacob Mejin. Jacob, who is from Clifton, said he is a big MrBeast fan and likes the burgers. They waited in line for 16 hours to get into the restaurant, with Jacob saying he was only a little tired, despite being up all night waiting.
Known not only for his stunts, Donaldson created a 501(c)3 Beast Philanthropy. His philanthropic efforts include raising over $20 million to plant 20 million trees worldwide and raising over $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of plastic and trash from waterways, beaches and oceans throughout the United States. He launched a nonprofit organization in October 2020 that has focused on donating over 1 million meals, building freshwater wells, building homes for Kentucky tornado victims and homeless people in Costa Rica, and providing $3 million in humanitarian supplies to Ukraine war refugees.
