Inside Detroit's First Wahlburgers Restaurant

Brenna Houck is a Cities Manager for the Eater network. She previously edited Eater Detroit and reported for Eater. You can follow her on the internet at @brennahouck.

After an over-the-top red carpet preview and high-profile soft openings, Detroit's first Wahlburgers outpost officially opened its doors to the masses on Monday. The glitzy Hollywood-style buildup has been the standout story of this incoming chain — from co-founder and actor Mark Wahlberg's unexpected announcement of the restaurant during a movie press junket last winter to the pre-opening, invite-only party that attracted the camera crews from the company's eponymous reality show.

Wahlburgers' Greektown interior seems to tell a similar story. Swag fills cases near the ordering counter, family photo collages hang on the walls, and the second floor sports a word cloud on the ceiling featuring Wahlberg brothers films and television shows (Saw II, Ted, Annapolis, and The Fighter to name a few). The 4,200-square-foot restaurant, spans two floors each with its own bar and includes a patio on the lately more pedestrian-friendly Monroe Avenue.

Nino Cutraro, managing partner for Wahlburgers in Michigan and Ohio and owner of favorite suburban celebrity haunt Bella Piatti, has signed on to open approximately 12 locations across the two states in the next five years. Marky Mark has also confirmed that the company is scouting its next location in the metro area.

Photographers Chris and Michelle Gerard took a tour of the brick, wood, and bright green-accented eatery on a recent morning. Take a look around the restaurant in the gallery below.