SYRACUSE — Cowboys Saloon American Bar & Grill, which will open in Destiny USA in 2016, has chosen Sunrise, Florida–based Eclipse Building Corporation to oversee the renovation project in its operating space

It will take over a 14,000-square-foot portion of the space that Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill abruptly vacated in 2015 after it had “serious financial issues,” according to the Eclipse news release issued Nov. 19.

Eclipse is also serving as the general contractor for Cowboys Saloon’s nationwide expansion.

Cowboys Saloon is a western-themed bar and restaurant chain with existing locations in Davie, Gainesville, and Ocala, Florida, as well as Phoenix, Arizona. 

Eclipse will provide a project manager and a superintendant to oversee the project at Destiny USA, says Todd Whalen, president of Eclipse Building Corp.

He spoke with CNYBJ on Dec. 16 from his office in Florida.

“We would be employing all local subcontractors, vendors, and labor as needed to perform the different duties of carpentry and plumbing and electrical and 

mechanical [work],” says Whalen.

Eclipse has yet to award any contracts to subcontractors, he added, noting that his company prefers to wait on awarding contracts until the permitting process is complete.

Architect Wayne Ferrell of Deerfield Beach, Florida is handling the design work. 

Eclipse will break ground with the Syracuse location in early January. The date for the groundbreaking is contingent upon the City of Syracuse issuing a building permit, he adds. 

Eclipse Building Corp. is a general contracting and construction-management firm that specializes in high-end commercial, retail, restaurant, and hospitality projects throughout the U.S.

The renovation work at the upcoming Cowboys Saloon represents Eclipse’s first construction work in New York, he says. 

The project

The renovation work, which will cost about $500,000, will involve two phases, says Whalen.

First, the Pyramid Companies will construct a demising wall, he says. The wall will reduce the square footage from 20,000 square feet down to a “more manageable” 14,000-square-foot space, according to the Eclipse news release.

“And once the landlord’s scope of work is done, we will commence work on our side … probably sometime in mid-January,” says Whalen. 

The work will focus on a “full front-of-house renovation,” which is a restaurant term.

When asked to explain what that meant, Whalen said the front of house is everything on the customer’s side of the kitchen and then “back of house is everything that a customer would not see, so kitchen and storage areas, walk-in coolers,” he says.

Crews will build new bars, a new stage, a new green room for the live acts, and a new entry way.

The renovation work will also include facades that mimic a street in an “old western town” and the building facades will include “balconies up on the buildings and the shed-style roofs,” says Whalen.

“We estimate seven to eight weeks for renovations,” he adds.

“Eclipse is the clear choice in aiding us in our efforts to expand Cowboys nationwide,” Anthony Perera, founder and co-owner of Cowboys Saloon, said in the Eclipse 

news release. “They are our exclusive construction managers and go-to general contractor. As the exclusive construction management firm, Eclipse Building Corp. will oversee the majority of our new locations.”

Perera co-owns Cowboys Saloon with BG Capital Group chairman Bobby Genovese.

Whalen was a customer of the Cowboys Saloon location in Davie, Florida and met Perera through his visits to the establishment. 

“We [also] share the same building for our corporate offices,” Whalen adds.