WINONA LAKE – After Cerulean Restaurant, 1101 E. Canal St., Winona Lake, completed a remodel of the restaurant, they celebrated Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting with the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce.
Conner Grumme, general manager of Cerulean Restaurant, said the restaurant closed at the beginning of the year for the remodel.
The renovation started Jan. 1 and finished in the middle of May. The restaurant then had about a week of training and about a week and a half of soft openings. Cerulean then opened up the restaurant inside for three weeks before it opened up its garden outside.
Some of the changes to the building include the patio is now completely enclosed and heated and air conditioned so it can be used yearround, he said. There are also larger tables. The restaurant got rid of all its booths.
Originally, the remodel started as a kitchen refresh as the equipment was becoming outdated. When they did that, the restaurant updated its sushi bar. They then figured they would do everything.
Grumme said the menu was also changed as part of the renovation.
“Our new menu is excellent. The chefs have worked extremely hard to create the perfect menu for our space. And I think they did a perfect job,” he said.
Included in the menu are two steak options, which Grumme said, in his opinion, are the best in town.
So far, Grumme said everyone has loved all the cosmetic changes Cerulean has done.
With the changes, Grumme said he hopes Cerulean keeps the same customer base from before, but also is able to reach out to new people to come in.