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Dillon marina restaurant design with ‘incredible, million-dollar views’ unveiled to public after community feedback

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The back side of Design firm Cushing Terrell's final design of a potential marina restaurant in Dillon features a connection to a boardwalk. The firm presented its final design to the town council at the June 24 work session.
Town of Dillon/Courtesy illustration

Architecture design firm Cushing Terrell returned to Dillon Town Hall on Tuesday to present its final design proposal for a restaurant at the marina.

The firm showed preliminary designs to the council in February. Designer Megan Cranston said the firm took input from the council and public on its three preliminary designs to create the final one. She highlighted year-round indoor seating, an outdoor deck, a bar area, public restrooms and maximized lake and mountain views, among other requests.

Cranston spoke about the potential restaurant’s location near the marina.



“We’re positioned really well between the amphitheater and some of the play spaces, the bike path and the marina,” Cranston said. “It’s really a wonderful spot to start to look at, with, as you all know, incredible, million-dollar views.”

Cushing Terrell called its three preliminary designs “mountain house,” “hillside” and “lake house.” The mountain and lake house designs had two stories, while the hillside only had one. Cranston reviewed the designs, pointing out key design elements, before having architect Charlie Deese take over to explain the final concept.



Deese said the final design combined elements of the preliminary ones, paying special attention to the things that received positive feedback from the public at a workshop in January and from the council in February.

“We’re not necessarily just taking one (design) and running with it,” Deese said. “We’re trying to grab the best from all three.”

The front side of Design firm Cushing Terrell’s final design of a potential marina restaurant in Dillon features a large outdoor patio. The firm presented its final design to the town council at the June 24 work session.
Town of Dillon/Courtesy illustration

The final, or refined, concept looks most like the lake house proposal, but Deese pointed out differences between the designs, like the final concept having a larger upstairs patio space, a roof sloped in the opposite direction and large fold-up doors to create indoor/outdoor space.

“We know when the winds kick up here, they kick up fast,” Deese said. “Rather than creating large covered outdoor patio space, let’s create walls that can easily fold up.”


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The design has two levels, with the upper one explicitly being restaurant space while the larger lower level is designated as “flex space” that could be divided into three sections. Deese said the bottom floor could be more seating for the restaurant, a more casual area of the restaurant, a different private business or a space the town uses to support marina operations.

“That lower level is really giving you the flexibility, because all those spaces have access to that lower-level patio,” Deese said.

The patio on the lower level would integrate with a boardwalk, Deese said, at about reservoir level. He said no path exists there now, but one could be built to provide a connection between the recreation path and the restaurant.

Deese also said the design firm used materials the public preferred, including shingles and stone, and maximized lake and mountain views by hiding the back of house area, HVAC, transformers, trash, ventilation and other things Cranston called “not-so beautiful” on the back side of the building.

Council members asked Cranston and Deese questions after their presentation. Member Barbara Richards expressed concerns about there not being enough parking for the restaurant and the space requiring a large staff.

Deese said the design has around 6,000 square feet, and Richards compared that to the Dillon Dam Brewery, which she said is 5,000 square feet and needs 80-100 employees to operate.

“The bigger you make it, just so you know, there is more challenge in operating,” Richards said. “You have to have the chops to do it well.”

Deese said the design aimed to show the maximum that could be done on the site, meaning the restaurant could not get much larger, but the concept could be scaled down if the square footage became a concern.

Town engineer Dan Burroughs spoke about next steps, saying there is more research and planning to be done before the town looks for a restaurant operator with which to create some sort of public-private partnership. 

Deese said the development of a project like this could happen in several ways. He gave examples, like the town funding the development, being the landlord and recouping the development cost through rent, or the town issuing a long-term ground lease to a developer and negotiating the terms of the arrangement.

Burroughs talked about gathering more public input this summer; budgeting money in 2026 to conduct studies on utilities and creating a path connection by the building’s lower level; and deciding what the council wants to do with the flexible space and how they would want to structure the ownership and development of the restaurant.

In response to questions about the price tag of the project, Burroughs emphasized that the cost would be spread out over time. Next year’s budget, he suggested, could include $50,000 to $100,000 to conduct more studies on specifics of the project.

“To build this thing, all is grandeur and everything, the path connections and landscaping, that’s a $6 million to $10 million thing,” Burroughs said. “If we can get it done for four (million), then that’s great.”

Mayor Carolyn Skowyra said the idea for a restaurant at this location came from conversations last year about moving the now-closed Arapahoe Cafe

“Ultimately, in that conversation, (we) determined the building would not be worth moving,” Skowyra said. “But if we can still have some sort of flagship restaurant that brings people into Dillon like the Arapahoe Cafe did.”

Skowyra also talked about how this restaurant would interact with Pug Ryan’s Tiki Bar, which is closer to the marina.

“I don’t think the council ever pictured it replacing the tiki bar,” Skowyra said. “Maybe replacing some of the expectation for full service dining.” 

Council members indicated support for getting more public input on the project at upcoming farmers market events and considering putting money towards further studies when the council works on the 2026 budget later this year.

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