Foley — If all goes as planned, the seafood fare synonymous with Wolf Bay Lodge will be available again by December, only this time the legendary eatery will be in Foley.

Groundbreaking for the new Wolf Bay Lodge at the old Wilson Pecan site at 20801 Miflin Road was held Tuesday morning. City officials, Chamber of Commerce members and others joined Alice Bretz and Charlene Haber, owners of Wolf Bay Lodge, in breaking ground on a venture that began about six months ago.

Mayor John Koniar said the city signed the contract with Bretz and Haber “week before last” on the $1.3 million project that will bring the restaurant to Foley. The family restaurant, which started in earnest in 1973, was located in Elberta until it burned a couple of years ago.

Koniar said Bretz and Haber will, over time through lease payments, pay back the $1.3 million the city spent in making improvements to the old Wilson Pecan property. The owners will also have first right to purchase outright, Koniar said.

“It will probably be the largest restaurant in this area,” said Jeff Rouzie, Foley Economic Development director. The restaurant will be 15,000 square foot, he said.

Rouzie said the new Wolf Bay Lodge will create about 60 jobs when it is up and running. He called the Wolf Bay Lodge project “one of the biggest bright spots” in the city.

Koniar said parking lot issues, subcontractor quotes and keeping the project within budget constraints contributed to the six-month time frame from talks with Haber and Bretz to actual groundbreaking for the restaurant.

“We’re hoping by mid to late December the restaurant will be open,” Koniar said on Monday.

A news release issued on June 25 by the Foley Convention & Visitors Bureau said Charlie and Sandy Wrape started serving seafood and steaks at Wolf Bay Lodge in 1973. What started as a bait shop in the 1940s expanded to serve sandwiches and, eventually, to full menu dining. Bretz and Haber, the Wrapes’ daughters, have carried on the tradition at the restaurant.