Beach-themed Kook Burger closes its Center City, Jersey Shore locations. Owners hit with wage theft lawsuit

After about two years in business, a small Jersey Shore-style burger chain — that once slung $30 milkshakes and offered visitors a place to stick their feet in the sand without leaving Center City — has closed.

It was not immediately clear how long ago Kook Burger and Bar, which included a sand pit for adults, stopped serving customers.

As of mid-June, a handwritten closed sign sits in the window behind a metal gate.

But, according to city records, the restaurant was flagged as permanently closed by Philadelphia Health Department inspectors as early as February 2025. Inspection reports have already been removed from the city’s online public database.

The Brigantine Beach-based burger joint has also shuttered its Jersey Shore and New York City restaurants in recent months. Its owners have since filed for bankruptcy, are being accused of wage theft by a former employee and admit they owe workers tens of thousands of dollars in salaries, records show.

The restaurants were controlled by Absecon Capital, a self-described “hospitality startup” founded four years ago and grew quickly, operated by husband and wife team Kingsley Braeden Anderson and Selena Gabrielle.

The couple created both Kook Burger and Black Turtle Coffee, with locations at the Jersey Shore and Philadelphia.

In April, the pair filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, citing outstanding claims most tied to the businesses, records show. The couple estimated that they owe various former employees about $20,000 in addition to taxes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.

The city of Philadelphia recently adopted a new law known as the POWER Act, meant to hold employers accountable, which includes wage theft cases. The city’s Department of Labor can investigate and penalize employers accused of abuse, suspend licenses and procurement contracts for violators and subpoena records in workers’ rights court cases. Third-party attorneys can also file civil cases against employers as class-action lawsuits.

The Brigantine Beach Black Turtle Coffee shop closed several months ago, where an eviction letter was on the door, and a former employee filed a wage theft complaint with state regulators.

Former Black Turtle Coffee worker Juan Silva Rodriguez said in court that he was recruited by the company to work at the Jersey Shore location and was promised the business would pay him an hourly wage, provide housing and sponsor his immigration visa.

Rodriguez alleges working between 70 to 80 hours a week — unpaid  — and eventually moved out of the provided condominium because it was not large enough to fit his family.

Rodriguez claimed that Anderson refused to pay him because it was the slow season and they could not afford to pay him, nor did they pay for the visa processing. He’s seeking back pay for 40 hours a week and 40 hours of overtime in court.

The New Jersey Wage Theft Act allows employees to obtain back pay and damages up to 200% of wages owed.

The business owners did not estimate how much was owed to Rodriquez in their bankruptcy filing.

Black Turtle Coffee also faces a lawsuit for unpaid debt from Interstate Outdoor Advertising in New Jersey, court records show.

The couple estimated they owe about $6,000 in unpaid billboard ad space to Interstate Outdoor Advertising and $84,295 to Lamar Advertising for billboard space, according to their bankruptcy filing.

There are still two Black Turtle Coffee locations in Philadelphia near Rittenhouse Square that will remain open, Anderson told WHYY News.

“The company experienced both hard-fought wins and painful losses, particularly under the Kook Burger umbrella,” Anderson said in a recent email.

Anderson, an attorney by trade, declined to comment on any pending litigation.

Absecon Capital’s “substantial investment” in its Greenwich Village location in New York City failed. Anderson said the restaurant “never completely got off the ground due to a problem with the building’s venting infrastructure which tragically was not disclosed to us.”

He blamed a subsequent domino effect that trickled down to the rest of its restaurant portfolio but did not directly address any issues at the Philadelphia or Jersey Shore locations.

“That failed location combined with broader economic challenges, forced us to make some difficult decisions which included closures of a handful of retail locations,” he said. “The founding team invested their life savings into this business and made significant personal sacrifices.”

Anderson said the pair is “deeply grateful” to its employees and loyal customers.

“We hope to pivot back into growth mode with Black Turtle Coffee as the focus when conditions stabilize,” he said.

As for the former Brigantine Beach locations, there’s a new coffee shop and burger joint, open just in time for the summer vacation season.