Wahlberg team to open Hingham pizzeria by next spring

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

The Wahlbergs are about to open yet another restaurant in the Hingham Shipyard, this time a pizza joint.

It’s a concept that has been in the works since Alma Nove’s inception, business partner and investor Ed St. Croix said, and with a finalized lease in the old Pizzapalooza space, chef Paul Wahlberg’s dream is months away from reality.

“We’ve been talking about it for several months,” St. Croix said. “It was presented to us a few months back when the pizza place closed down.

"We started talking about concepts, we were in the middle of the burger building at that time…but Paul wanted to do pizza at [Alma Nove] and space wouldn’t allow us, so it worked that we could move the concept…and do what we always wanted to do.”

The restaurant would be right in the area of the Alma Nove and Walhburgers establishments, taking advantage of the harbor view and water traffic, as well as the nearby retail, residential, and entertainment spaces. Those two restaurants are owned by St. Croix, and Paul, Mark, and Donnie Wahlberg.

As for what the new restaurant will look and feel like, that's up for discussion.

“That’s what we’re going through right now. The burger place just opened up, and now we’re looking to do with the pizza. Even the theme and the name -- the name we’re not 100 percent [sure of],” St. Croix said. “We’re going through the concept phase, menu items with pizza, what types of pizza, things like that.”

Currently, the working title is “Pizzeria Diciannove,” meaning Pizza Place 19 in Italian. That number corresponds to the address.

Although the most exciting part of opening a restaurant is seeing the customers experience the final product, St. Croix said the group was thrilled to begin another venture.

And as before, the expectations are high.

“The start right now, that open piece of paper thing, looking how you want it to be, how you want it to look and feel, the whole package needs to come together before you open the door, but we’re very excited for that,” St. Croix said. “People expect a lot, it’s a quality product that needs to be there, and that’s what we’re hoping to deliver.”

The group will meet with designers and engineers in the coming months in order to pull together the look and feel for the establishment. Currently, they are looking to open in spring 2012.

The fact that the restaurant will stay in the Shipyard is exciting for Samuels & Associates, the Shipyard's developer and landlord.

“Paul runs a great operation. He has a great attention to detail, he focuses on the customer experience and customer service, and he has demonstrated that he knows how to run this business…we’re happy to support them if they want to expand,” said Leslie Cohen, senior vice president of development

Overall, the Wahlberg ventures have been well received, and the new pizza place will only add more variety to the Shipyard, which recently began adding residential units to the space.

“We have a great restaurant destination, something that can accommodate a lot of different needs and lifestyles. Alma Nove is more upscale, Hingham Beer Works with their vast selection of beers and a large family following [has been great], and now we have some more fast, casual dining,” Cohen said.

Staying in the Shipyard was important for the creative development team as well, St. Croix said.

“We think it’s a great location,” he said. “We’ve always had a long-term visual there, and we’re seeing it all come together. We’re just excited about the Shipyard and a restaurant there makes sense for us.”