Great River Entertainment

FunCity Resort, a Great River Entertainment Property located in Burlington, IA, offers a wide range of exciting activities and amenities for the community, including Catfish Bend Casino, hotels, an event center, sports courts, arcades, a waterpark, bowling alleys, diverse dining options, and much more. For this project, the focus was revitalizing one of the on-site restaurants and adjacent bar area. Conceptual Designs Inc. (CDI), located in Bettendorf, IA, was the interior design firm hired by FunCity Resort who spearheaded and managed the renovation for the client. Paragon Fabrication was brought on board in the fall of 2023 to round out the collaborative team and bring the ideas to life.

CDI’s vision was to infuse the 2,4000 sq ft space with a fresh and inviting atmosphere. Inspired by the charm of urban neighborhoods, the goal was to make guests feel as though they were dining in a quaint, outdoor setting within a vibrant community. Every design decision—from the flooring to the views through the faux storefront windows—was made to create a fully immersive experience.

Large, central faux tree features serve as a focal point, surrounded by circular seating. This element, adorned with warm string lights, evokes the ambiance of an outdoor garden or park. The use of wood, woven furniture, and natural color schemes contributes to the outdoor-inspired aesthetic, while the flooring mimics natural stone, grounding the space in a realistic, outdoor feel. The space was framed using dimensional building facades, faux storefront windows, brick murals and detailed molding give the impression of looking out onto an exterior space, enhancing the indoor/outdoor blend. Additionally, a matching pergola was added to further enhance the outdoor experience. The seating arrangement and string lights replicate the cozy ambiance of an outdoor café, encouraging a relaxed and communal dining experience. The Shake Alley area features a lively, graffiti-adorned wall and a counter design with patterned tiles with a worn finish, adding an urban, street-side vibe to the space.

Paragon’s custom fabrication consisted of planter boxes with faux boxwood bushes, powder coated metal railings with painted wood base boxes and faux foliage. Multiple community tables were built that included hardwood maple tops, laminate body with integrated power and faux epoxy trees with twinkle lights. Building facades were created using painted wood buildouts, painted HDU accents and printed graphics, including a full wall HD printed vinyl. The condiment counters included birch construction with laminate finish and solid surface countertops. The “Shake it up Sign” and “Shake Alley” signage consisted of powder coated aluminum framing with painted HDU lettering and LED halo light accents. Contract to installation happened inside a six-month window followed by an efficient, two-week installation by Paragon in the spring of 2024.

“This job was initiated with Paragon because our design team came to Great River with a concept that we were unsure as to how we were going to get it implemented” said Michelle Blunk, Commercial Interior Designer. “Since our experience has been with general contractors, we thought there's too many parts and pieces here that don't really belong to a general contractor, but who do we go to? And being from the Midwest, that's really a big part of our problem, is finding people to implement the really cool design features that we put in projects. So, there was Paragon - they took what we put in our renderings, and they actually made it a reality. So, in all my years in my industry, I have never worked with a company that is as turnkey as what Paragon is. When I think about the project in hindsight and whether the objectives of the project were met, I absolutely a hundred percent feel that that project objective that we set forth in the very beginning was knocked out of the park.”

The overall result is a successful fusion of natural elements, outdoor-inspired furniture, and architectural features that together create a cohesive and immersive environment, allowing guests to enjoy the feel of dining outdoors, within the comfort of an indoor space.