The Restaurant at Boulder Dam Hotel, the Treasured Times Teahouse in back of the restaurant and the downstairs Spillway Lounge are scheduled to open Sept. 1, restaurant manager Cindy Bezard said.
Bezard, innkeeper Roger Shoaff and a host of hotel workers since July have been renovating the restaurant and bar areas, preparing for the first time in hotel history the businesses won't be independently run.
Chris and Craig Matteo left in July after five years of operating Matteo's Restaurant and Matteo's Underground Lounge in the historic hotel, built in 1933. The brothers did not renew their lease after hotel owners Boulder City Museum and Historical Association doubled the rent.
The nonprofit association, which renovated the hotel and operates the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum in the building, asked Bezard to run the restaurant and expand her California Avenue teahouse theme in the space. The association now owns the restaurant and lounge, Shoaff said.
In addition to fresh paint and new furniture, the restaurant has a new kitchen and the basement bar has been gutted and restyled. New electrical and plumbing also has been installed, Shoaff said.
He said the idea was to redo the place so it's more compatible with the hotel and its guests.
Already the new restaurant and bar have attracted 14 bookings through the end of the year, event coordinator Candice Brunscheen said.
Brunscheen, who had her wedding at the hotel in March, said one family has rented out all 20 rooms for Thanksgiving and plans to have their holiday dinner at the restaurant.
Bezard ran her Treasured Time Teahouse in a renovated cottage on California Street for 2 1/2 years and called the move to the hotel bittersweet but also a logical step for her.
"I'm very lucky to have the space and flexibility to be able to offer more things," she said.
The restaurant will be open Monday through Friday, and on weekends, she'll offer dining in the Spillway Lounge, she said.
The restaurant will feature soups and signatures sandwiches for lunch, as well as nine "appetizer dining" entrees for dinner, Bezard said.
Shoaff said he plans 14 signature cocktails in the lounge and for the lobby upstairs.
The teahouse will continue to offer fresh pastries and 18 teas, Bezard said.
From her office in the basement of the hotel, Bezard said she appreciates the chance to relive history in trying to create a '30s-style ambience with old photos and art deco murals.
"We have a lot of respect for the history here," she said. "All of us do. It's what draws us to the building."
Cassie Tomlin can be reached at 948-2073 or [email protected].
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