One of the centerpieces of The Hub residential and commercial development along Lovers Lane is finally in place.

After a months-long delay because of supply chain problems, the upscale Tony’s Steak and Seafood restaurant will open April 24.

Located on the ground floor of the five-story, 198-room Embassy Suites hotel that opened in December, Tony’s will bring to Bowling Green a restaurant that has been ranked among the country’s best steakhouses by the tastingtable.com website.

“This is just a fantastic addition to The Hub, to Embassy Suites and to the city of Bowling Green,” said David Chandler, who put together the 103-acre The Hub development. “It’ll certainly be an upper-end restaurant, but it will still be affordable.”

Started in 2010 in Cincinnati by Italian immigrant Tony Ricci, Tony’s also has locations in downtown Lexington and in Indianapolis.

The Bowling Green location, Ricci said, will mirror those locations with a menu that includes a selection of higher-end wines and bourbons and such specialties as Chilean sea bass, Alaskan King Crab, filet mignon, New York Strip steak and various pasta dishes.

Prices range from $56 for a nine-ounce filet mignon to $79 for a 24-ounce Porterhouse steak.

“We’ll start out with the same menu we have at the other places,” Ricci said. “We may eventually add some things that Bowling Green wants.”

Taking up a 6,000-square-foot space, the Bowling Green Tony’s will have a seating capacity of about 250 people when the patio area is included and will employ 50 to 70 people.

Ricci said the restaurant will not be at capacity during a “soft opening” period that starts April 24 but instead will gear up slowly and be open for dinner only at first.

“We’re going to open cautiously,” Ricci said. “The soft opening will last two or three weeks and give us a chance to work out some wrinkles.”

Chandler believes Tony’s will attract customers who may already be familiar with the brand.

“He (Ricci) has a huge following,” Chandler said. “A lot of people from Bowling Green have eaten at his restaurant that is in downtown Lexington near Rupp Arena.”

Ricci said Chandler and other local business leaders convinced him that Bowling Green was the best spot for the fourth Tony’s.

“You have a great group of people who believe in Bowling Green,” Ricci said. “They convinced me that this area is ready to support something like this.”