Friday, June 4, 2010

Alma Nove is open

Chef Paul Wahlberg opens Italian restaurant Alma Nove at Hingham Shipyard complex
Actors’ brother chef and owner at Alma Nove at Hingham Shipyard  
 By Jon Chesto
Posted Jun 04, 2010 @ 02:22 AM
Last update Jun 04, 2010 @ 02:53 AM

Wahlberg family photo in the bar area of Alma Nove. Paul is at left.

 
Owning his own restaurant has been a lifelong dream for chef Paul Wahlberg.
That’s why he jumped at the chance to go into business for himself when space at the redeveloped Hingham Shipyard complex became available. The opportunity to open on a waterfront site in a highly visible location was too good to pass up.
That lifelong dream finally comes to fruition this weekend, with the opening of Wahlberg’s Alma Nove.
“I’m taking a big risk in this economy,” Wahlberg said. “(But) I couldn’t ask for a better location. ... When the opportunity arose, I definitely had to secure it.”
Wahlberg had some help with making his vision become a reality: His more famous brothers – actors Donnie and Mark Wahlberg – are equity partners in the business, along with family friend Ed St. Croix and several other investors. The restaurant’s name is a reference to the Wahlbergs’ mother, Alma, and her nine children.
Wahlberg previously was the chef at Bridgeman’s in Hull for about eight years. He said he will also be the chef of Alma Nove as well as an owner. The menu at the restaurant, which was scheduled to open to the public for the first time tonight, consists of Italian fare, with influences from foods found in other Mediterranean countries.
Wahlberg employs 30 to 40 people at the nearly 3,500-square-foot restaurant. He said the indoor space includes 115 seats for diners, as well as seating for 28 people outside on the patio.
Wahlberg said he has lived in Hingham for the past 10 years and has been excited to watch the shipyard redevelopment take shape off Route 3A during the past two years.
Alma Nove joins a growing list of eateries at the redevelopment’s 240,000-square-foot commercial portion, which is known as the Launch at Hingham Shipyard.
Pizzapalooza and Panera Bread have already opened. Typhoon Asian Bistro, an Asian fusion restaurant in the Back Bay, is expected to open a new location there within a few weeks. Also on tap this summer: Slesar Bros. Brewing Co., the company behind Boston Beer Works, will open a Hingham Beer Works brewpub at the site.
“The shipyard ... is going to be a restaurant destination,” Wahlberg said. “There’s a real sense of community in this development.”
The restaurant, retail and office spaces are being developed by Samuels & Associates of Boston. Other tenants that have opened within the past year include Patriot Cinemas, Old Navy, Fresh Market, Petco and Eastern Mountain Sports.
Bed, Bath & Beyond was the first retailer to open at the site, with a 29,000-square-foot store that opened last July. Other stores are expected to open on a rolling schedule throughout the year.
Jon Chesto may be reached at jchesto@ledger.com.
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