Known for their delicious wood fired pizza, The Café on Hawk Creek in Neskowin has been receiving major upgrades to their restaurant over the last four months. The renovation officially began on January 22, however, owners Frank and Genie Ullrich had been working on plans for almost two years before being approved to build in mid-January.

As the restaurant grew in popularity among locals and visitors, the Ullrich’s saw a need for more space to accommodate their customers.

“We only had seven tables before and on weekends, holidays and during the summer time, we would have a significant wait, so we’ve really enlarged the dining space for more seating,” Genie said. “We also enlarged the kitchen, which was really small before.”

In addition to the kitchen expansion, the Ullrich’s have added a larger freezer and walk in refrigerator, as well as storage space upstairs, that includes a wine cellar and business office space.

“The two main needs were more seating in our dining room and more space in the kitchen,” Genie said. “We’ve really just expanded on our original footprint and I think the kitchen crew especially is happy with the expansion and the extra space.”

Another nuance in the café is the addition of a full-bar to the dining area. The Ullrich’s felt there was a need for the bar when they began developing plans because before they would have to go back to the kitchen every time a drink was ordered.

With all the changes that have been made to Neskowin’s most popular restaurant, some things will remain the same. The café will still have its outdoor dining area on the deck and the menu will be basically the same according to Genie, which includes the wood fired pizzas.

“Everyone has been asking about the pizza, so of course we have to keep the pizza because we don’t want to ruin a good thing,” Genie chuckled.

While putting the new plans together, another goal of the café was to incorporate an artistic flare to the design, like the new bronze screen in the front window which was designed and built by a contemporary metal sculptor out of New York, N.Y.

Aside from the bronze screen, the Ullrich’s wanted to feature local artists as well to hang and display their work, including the front door put together by Frank Boyden who lives in Cascade Ranch just north of Lincoln City.

“He did the glass piece on the front door and he also sculpted the door handle which is a beautiful bronze heron,” Genie said.

Although there is not a set date for when construction will be complete and when the café will reopen, the Ullrich’s are hoping to reopen sometime in June. Genie and Frank are happy with the progress so far and are hoping the new and improved café will be well appreciated by the community.

“We put in all new windows and a new roof and I think it’s really going to be nice,” Genie said. “There’s also a few other additions that we plan to add before reopening and they’ll be more of a surprise that I think everyone is really going to like.”