Nearly a decade after Birmingham's beloved Marty's Bar faded into memory, its smashed-patty burger lives on at Marty's GM in Irondale, a casual sports bar and restaurant tucked inside The Hill at Grants Mill shopping center. The spot has quietly built a following for the kind of burger that made the original Southside haunt famous, and it just added new Friday lunch hours this past September to make it even easier to get one.
The restaurant sits at 5415 Beacon Drive, Suite 145, in Irondale, according to AL.com, which describes it as a hidden gem carrying on the legacy of outstanding burgers once associated with the original Marty's. Customers order at the counter and a server brings the food and drinks to the table, a setup that keeps things casual. The restaurant also includes a section with games and a bar area called Eagle's Nest with pool tables.
Marty's GM is an offshoot of Marty's Bar, a late-night Southside venue that AL.com calls an institution for more than 30 years. The bar first opened in 1993 and was located at 1813 10th Court South in Southside, and its namesake, Marty Eagle, died in 2013. That same year, the original bar closed for a time, a closure a 2013 AL.com report framed as potentially temporary, with owner Kay Ferguson saying at the time, “It is closing, but it doesn't mean it won't reopen soon.” That earlier bar had been known for burgers topped with a thick layer of gooey cheese, the kind of detail that still echoes in the Marty's GM menu today.
From Five Points South to a Family-Friendly Spinoff
Partners including Phillip Mims and Marsha Mims revived the bar as Marty's PM in 2014, and that location kept operating until early 2025. Marty's partners launched the Irondale spinoff, Marty's GM, in 2018, with the “GM” distinguishing the Grants Mill location from the original PM bar. A Trussville location followed in 2022, giving the Marty's name a third address at 1423 Gadsden Highway, per the Trussville Tribune.
That same 2018 report described the Irondale location as more family-friendly than the original bar, and said Marty's partners chose Irondale after noticing that a lot of their Southside customers were first-time homebuyers living in and around the area. The Tribune's account at the time listed weekend brunch running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, though AL.com's more recent reporting lists Saturday hours running 10 a.m. to midnight and Sunday hours from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Burger That Keeps the Legend Going
The signature Marty's Burger is made with two smashed beef patties topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mayo, mustard and ketchup, according to AL.com's account. The Friday lunch menu also includes burgers, sandwiches, wings, chicken tenders, salads and appetizers, with burgers and sandwiches priced $10 to $14 and served with a pile of house chips. A side of fries runs $2.50, a side salad is $2.34, and full-size salads cost $12, while chicken wings and tenders range from $11.50 to $13.50.
Diners can add bacon for $2 or chicken for $4, and appetizers run $7 to $11.50. Menu items generally run $15 or less before tax and tip, according to the outlet's report, which frames Marty's GM as part of a broader series looking for affordable restaurants around the Birmingham metro area. The restaurant has also rotated specials that have included bánh mì, cinnamon rolls and chicken tater bowls.
New Friday Hours and a Loyal Following
Marty's GM added Friday lunch hours in September, giving the restaurant a separate lunch menu on top of its regular later-day menu and weekend brunch. On Fridays the restaurant is now open 11 a.m. to midnight, while Monday through Wednesday hours run 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Thursday hours stretch from 3 p.m. to midnight.
The restaurant has earned a 4.4 out of 5 star rating on Yelp based on 107 reviews, per the same AL.com account. One reviewer, identified only as Kristen C., said she enjoyed eating in, thought her burger was fantastic, and found the service quick. For a restaurant built on the reputation of a bar that no longer exists, that kind of feedback suggests the smashed-patty tradition is in good hands at its new Irondale address.
