Business : New Cafe de Klos takes shape exactly as owner envisioned it -- only better

This hawk is one of many painted on the ceiling of the new Cafe de Klos restaurant in Vinton.

This painting of a New Orleans scene represents the inspiration for the French Quarter.

Gary and Joan Dvorak paint a wall on the bar area.

Brian Parr painted the "Bird Cage" and the hawks on the ceiling of the Cafe de Klos.

Cedar log siding and cedar roofing adds to the outdoor feel at Cafe de Klos.

A year ago, Gary Dvorak began work on Cafe de Klos.

The first time that Gary Dvorak walked through the grassy area behind the façade of what used to be the front of the Vinton American Legion Hall, he envisioned every part of the new Café De Klos Restaurant.

He saw the French Quarter, which captures the feel of a New Orleans city street, with balconies on each side. He saw the bird cage at the top of a winding staircase. He saw the Rose Room, the bar, the big screen TV, and the courtyard.

Now, nearly a year after beginning the work on the restaurant, Gary said it looks exactly like he saw it – only better.

And the reason it looks better is because the restaurant has something Gary did not envision at first – the painted sky of a ceiling, complete with several hawks.

Brian Parr – most frequently associated with the chain saw sculptures that replaced many trees damaged by the July 2011 storm – painted the ceiling as well as the tropical scenes and birds of the area that Gary will call the “Bird Cage.”

Gary and his wife Joan, along with their daughter, Diamond, spent Sunday afternoon at the building on Sunday, painting the bar area, which includes white diamonds on the wall. Above those walls with the diamonds are cedar log siding and cedar shake-covered roof peaks. Those exterior-style walls under the high painted ceiling are designed to give as much of an outdoor feel as possible.

Gary plans to put two baseball bats, as well as the New York Yankees logo, on the north wall of the bar area, with a large screen TV on the south wall.

The Dvoraks hope to open Café de Klos next month. They bought the former Legion site last year and began work in November of 2011. Gary served as his own general contractor and did much of the work with his own hands.

The Dvoraks owned Café de Klos at three locations in Cedar Rapids, the last of which Gary converted from a funeral home into a restaurant. The Vinton location is bigger than the previous site, said Gary. It also has the advantage of having everything (with the exception of the “Bird Cage”) on one floor.

Joan said her favorite area of the restaurant is the French Quarter. The couple recently visited New Orleans and returned with some paintings on actual roofing slate from there. One painting shows the street scene that inspired the outdoor feel of the French Quarter.

The restaurant will have both a bar menu and a fine dining menu. In addition to the themed rooms, there will be some private booths for fine dining as well as private dining area. And those who enjoy outdoor dining will be able to eat in a courtyard on the west side of the building.