With only photos and written instructions to work with, the Carson City business of Shaheen Beauchamp Builders, LLC, recently remodeled the Chart House, a popular dinner spot on Kingsbury Grade in South Lake Tahoe.
"They gave us item-by-item instructions as to what to do," said Mark Beauchamp, owner of Shaheen Beauchamp Builders.
"It was harder to work that way, but they, the owners, had a pretty good idea of what they wanted. We just helped fine tune it."
The Chart House is owned by Landry's Restaurants, Inc., headquartered in Houston.
"The interior environment was of a rustic, oceanside type," Beauchamp said. "They've made it more elegant with classy features like marble countertops and custom lighting. It really has a classy, elegant look."
Beauchamp said they added mahogany wood, new upholstery to the seating areas and stained grade wood or coverings to the walls.
"The thing was, they (corporate) asked us to be done in two months," Beauchamp said.
"This would not have been a problem normally, but we had to do our work outside of their regular business hours as not to disturb their daily business. They didn't want to close the restaurant down while it was being remodeled. They wanted to be fully operational.
"As it was, we started working on it at the end of December and were done at the end of February. It was about 21U2 months."
Beauchamp's crew started work at 3 a.m. and would be out before restaurant staff began preparing for the dinner crowd.
"It helped they're only open dinner hours. We were required to send progress photos every week."
The crew added glass-wave panels at the top of each booth; new plumbing, electrical and lighting fixtures in the restrooms; and pretty much remodeled every square inch of the restaurant, according to Beauchamp.
"We couldn't tear stuff out. Everything had to be done in phases." he explained.
Shaheen Beauchamp Builders, LLC, primarily does commercial work, which includes retail offices, medical, industrial and custom homes.
They recently remodeled Highway 50 Plaza, built Triangle Labs on Deer Run Road, and -- one of Beauchamp's pride and joy projects -- worked on St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Community church on Lompa Lane.
"(St. Teresa is) the kind of building that doesn't go out of style. It has a classic look."
Beauchamp said the Chart House project was a challenge but fun. He was somewhat concerned with never having worked with the clients before and the nature of the construction, but found quickly the clients were easy to work with.
"They were very reasonable," Beauchamp said. "We bent over backward to take care of them, and they were responsive. It was a team effort in order to keep things rolling.
"It's fun to do a project where the owners have the money and want to make their things look nice. They have a beautiful structure, and we appreciate doing these projects."
