wahlburgers

A rendering of the AC Hotel by Marriott along with the Wahlburgers restaurant to be built at CityCentre at Big Spring in downtown Huntsville. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)

With a passing out of green caps adorned with the company's logo, Wahlburgers announced plans Tuesday to open a restaurant in downtown Huntsville.

The gourmet burger joint will be a part of the CityCentre at Big Spring, the new development at the site of the former Holiday Inn at Monroe Street and Williams Avenue near the Von Braun Center.

A formal groundbreaking was also held for the development Tuesday but the Wahlburgers restaurant - to be a part of the AC by Marriott hotel - stole the spotlight. It will be the first Wahlburgers location in Alabama.

Paul Wahlberg - the brother of movie star Mark Wahlberg - started the restaurant chain in the Boston suburb of Hingham. A reality show on the A&E network provides a behind-the-scenes look at the business.

"We have full service, counter service as well as a full bar," said Gina Buell, the Wahlburgers franchisee in Huntsville. "So it's going to be great for grabbing a bite with the kids before or after a game or it's going to be great after coming to all the downtown events. We are perfect for any guest any time."

The previously-announced hotel - also an Alabama first - along with the Wahlburgers is expected to be open for business in early 2018, according to Michael Amaral, executive VP of the Yedla Management Group, which will operate the hotel.

Amaral said there are currently only 17 AC by Marriott hotels in the United States with 157 luxury hotels worldwide. The Huntsville hotel will have 121 rooms.

"The AC brand markets itself as a European-style luxury offering with a design that appeals to the X and Y generational traveler," Amaral said. "The hotel features a contemporary room design, event space, a fitness space and offers the AC kitchen, which offers the European-designed breakfast and the AC lounge, which features hand-crafted cocktails and tap and small-plate food items."

CityCentre is being developed by Huntsville-based RCP Companies. RCP Director Odie Fakhouri pointed to the spirit of Huntsville as being a major asset in recruiting companies to invest in the Rocket City.

The groundbreaking came after a series of delays in the project. The hotel and accompanying Wahlburgers makes up Phase 1 of the project. Detailed plans have yet to be unveiled on Phase 2.

"This is one of these days a lot of us have been anticipating for a long time," Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said. "We're going to see some great things out of this project. But really, this comes down to one thing: It makes our city just a little bit better place. It makes us a beautiful city."