Renovated Tappan marina is unveiled

SCIO -- After nearly a year of renovations, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District unveiled its new Tappan Lake Marina facility and restaurant.

A media event was held Tuesday morning where MWCD officials showed off the nearly $6 million renovation project that began in November. Adria Bergeron, director of marketing and communications at MWCD, said the upgrades involved an entire remodel of the former building including a new marina, bait shop and restaurant. The new facility provides better access to its guests, she said.

"The footprint is the same, but they took it down to the studs and rebuilt it back up.

"With the construction, we have provided better access to the lake itself and for our guests who are coming either off of the water to enjoy the restaurant or coming off the road to enjoy the lake," she said.

Bergeron said construction was set to be complete earlier this year; however, it fell behind schedule due to a delay with materials and contractor staffing issues.

"We finally got done and we'll be ready to open with a bang in 2022," she added.

The marina area is located on the bottom level of the facility with the restaurant taking up the upper level space, which includes a view of the lake and an outdoor deck space for additional seating. There are stairs and an elevator to access the bottom level.

Boris Slogar, chief engineer at MWCD, said the facility is much more energy efficient than the previous building.

"The building is heated and cooled using a geothermal system, so we have heat exchangers that are actually out in the lake. We route brine water through piping into the lake, and that's much like a geothermal system that you can have for residential use. We have a commercial-grade system here that is heating and cooling the building at great efficiencies," he said. "The building is all LED lit -- low energy, high efficiency use in terms of electric and the heating and cooling."

There will also be some green infrastructure implemented in the spring to filter runoff from the parking lot, Slogar said.

"We're doing all we can to be good stewards of this piece of property that we've got," he added.

Although the renovations to the facility are complete, the Waters Edge Kitchen + Bar will not open until April due to some delays in construction. The future restaurant, which can now seat 250 people -- 150 indoors and 100 on the covered deck -- is owned by the MWCD and operated by Shari Lewis and Matt Donohoe, the owners of the Dennison Yard, an Italian-style restaurant.

Lewis said the Waters Edge restaurant will differ from their current eatery. Although they are still working to finalize the restaurant's new menu, she said it will include items such as burgers, steaks, fish sandwiches, flatbreads, wraps and more.

"We have a lot of opportunities of what we can do with the menu," she said, noting that the new kitchen area has a lot of space and equipment. "We'll have a variety of things that people can enjoy coming off the lake that want more of a casual thing, and then also for people who drive down for a date night or bring their families down because they want to dine with a view."

Lewis said they are looking forward to stocking the kitchen and opening in the spring. She said they have a couple of openings for a general manager and kitchen manager. Anyone interested in submitting a resume can do so by e-mailing info@dennisonyard.com.

The marina will remain open on the weekends until mid-October where boat rentals, boat fuel, fishing license, boating license and limited bait can be purchased. After Oct. 15, the shop will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Jeremy Hoffer, manager of the Tappan Lake Marina, said he recommends people call ahead in the winter months to check the shop's availability.

Though the season begins to slow in the winter months, Bergeron said there are still people who enjoy ice fishing on the lake and utilize the hiking trails. She said they do urge caution to those who participate in ice fishing, as it can be a dangerous sport.

An open house where the public can tour the new facility is set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 33315 Cadiz-Dennison Road, Scio.

"We are excited to welcome the community this Saturday. It's an opportunity for people that have been driving by or hearing about the construction to actually come in and take a look for themselves," Bergeron said.