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New Icon Restaurant on the "cutting edge"
Released: 10/20/2006
By: Roy Williams
BIRMINGHAM, AL - The new Icon Restaurant and Bar at the renovated Tutwiler Hotel will feature a spiral, street-level entrance and a main seating area with smoke-glass windows that allow patrons to peer into the kitchen area. Icon's managing partner Alan Dobbs said comparisons to Restaurant G - the downtown dining spot known for its 28-foot floor-to-ceiling curtains and huge steel staircase and artwork - are inevitable. But Dobbs said the look and feel of Icon will be different.
Dobbs on Thursday released the first artist renderings of Icon, which Tutwiler owner Bill Murray of Integral Hospitality says will complement the $7.5 million makeover under way at the historic downtown hotel.
The design, by Eric Hendon and Rob Mahurin of Hendon + Huckestein Architects, shows features such as the spiral entrance from the street-level just off Park Place and the smokeglass windows that allow a view of the kitchen.
''We are really working hard to bring another incredible space to not only for our regulars but also something that will leave a lasting positive memory for
those out-of-town hotel guests,'' Dobbs said. ''The look will be a little more contemporary and cutting edge. A tremendous amount of thought has gone into the space to make sure everyone feels at home.''
Dobbs and Chef Geoffrey Slate, his business partner, are spending $1 million to convert the Tutwiler's former restaurant into Icon. They closed G in early August and hoped to have Icon open by mid-September, but construction was delayed nearly two months because of problems getting the necessary permits.
Dobbs said they are tentatively set to open by late November. He admits the delay has been frustrating.
''Trust me, there is no one wanting us to be open more than Geoff and me,'' Dobbs said.
Remaking rooms
Meanwhile, Tutwiler General Manager Bryan Groover said workers from Keeton General Contractor of Birmingham are on pace to complete renovations of the Tutwiler's sixth and seventh floors by mid-November.
The work is being done in stages by floor so as to not inconvenience guests. Groover, who became general manager just before the renovations began in June, said the biggest challenge has been letting the public know the Tutwiler is still open.
By early December, the plan is to complete the fourth and fifth floor renovations followed by the second and third floors a month later and then the main lobby. The goal is to have the entire renovations done by March 1, 2007, Groover said.
Once completed, the Tutwiler will have expanded from the current 147 rooms to 162 rooms, including 68 suites. The eighth floor will contain 13 luxury suites available to renting for VIPs, Groover said.
Groover said the hotel has hired a broker to help it find a coffee shop. Among those being considered are Carrabou Coffee and Seattle Drip, he said.
Trademark cocktails
Dobbs said his goal at Icon is to push the bar even higher than Restaurant G did for downtown dining.
From handicapped-accessible bar counters, wide walkways and Internet connections for laptops on the bar top, Dobbs said he wants ''to allow everyone to enjoy our new home.''
Icon will seat 110 for dining and 30 at the bar compared to 107 customers at G.
In addition to featuring an extensive wine and cocktail menu similar to one at G that won awards, Dobbs said Icon will feature trademark cocktails to set it apart. The Tutwiler project, he said, offered an opportunity ''to grow both our business and ourselves.''
''By opening of the G in the heart of the City Center, we did something that people said couldn't be done in this market at this time,'' Dobbs said. ''We proved them wrong. There are no other hotels in this area that have signature restaurants, so this gives us the opportunity to once again be innovators.''
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