Elegant and friendly, warm and comfortable, and available to guests and local residents alike are great ways to describe the two new restaurants opening soon inside Oglebay’s Wilson Lodge.
The Wheeling Park Commission announced three weeks ago the new eateries would replace The Glassworks Grill and the Ihlenfeld Dining Room. Along with high-end steak and seafood entrees, Trace Chophouse will feature Old World and New World wines, and the Skyline Kitchen & Bar will offer a gastropub family dining experience inspired by regional food favorites.
The Skyline also will feature the Ihlenfeld Room, an area overlooking the park’s Children’s Center and lake area that will feature, from time to time, pop-up menus and special gatherings for folks of all ages.
The two restaurants, according to Wheeling Park Commission President and CEO Bob Peckenpaugh, are expected to open in early August.
“It took a lot of great minds coming together between the design group and the architecture group, LDL Studio and the Mills Group, and our team here at the park,” he explained. “I don’t know how many times we walked through these spaces, but we definitely got creative when we developed how to use the areas.
“We knew what we wanted to do, but in the beginning, we didn’t know how we were going to get there,” Peckenpaugh admitted. “We got there, though, and we’re very excited to watch it all come together so we can share it with our community and our guests.”
The Trace Chophouse will be a 54-seat bistro situated in a space once utilized as a waiting area and private dining room, and the menu will be short, simple, and persistently delicious.
“The area where Trace is located was very underutilized, so we’ve captured it and we’re creating a chophouse that’s going to offer the best possible meat and seafood dishes, and we’re committing to this elevated experience in every way. Trace will be open five evenings per week, Wednesday through Sunday, and the menu will be very attractive for those who enjoy those kinds of items.
“Our new Speakeasy will be attached to Trace, and the Speakeasy area is going to utilized in several ways,” he said. “It could be used at times for overflow from the chophouse, or for private dinners or small parties, and there’s going to be a concentration sometimes on craft cocktails and different selections to provide very different, unique experiences.”
The Skyline Kitchen & Bar will feature an open design allowing patrons to observe not only a visible display kitchen but also where the horizon meets the rolling hills of Appalachia above Schenk Lake.
“The intention with the new Skyline Kitchen & Bar is to have a three-meal restaurant that you want to come back to every day,” explained Peckenpaugh, now in his third year with Oglebay. “It will evoke a gastropub vibe with something for everyone on its menu day-to-day, but it will also lean into some nostalgic comfort foods like chicken pot pies and meatloaf and pepperoni rolls and cabbage rolls.
“Our customers will find those menu items along with the other more modern gastropub items,” he said. “While developing the Skyline and Trace Chophouse menus, we considered what our local residents would like and what our guests here at the park have requested and we believe the choices are going to be very popular in those great atmospheres.”
The new eateries are an example of a series of projects intended to re-energize the historic Wilson Lodge, a hotel with roots dating back to the late 1950s. Along with a new lodge entrance that’s nearing completion, the two new restaurants, renovations to the Hickman Lounge, Sarita’s Coffee & Goods, and the hotel’s gift shop are aspects of an $8 million initiative that has been financed by an economic development grant and by the Oglebay Foundation.
“Wilson Lodge is a treasure and it’s cherished, and it has been for decades, and the history and the presence always will be parts of the experience, but once these projects are completed, it will look and feel better,” Peckenpaugh explained. “It will be a modern version of a historic lodge, and that’s accomplished with an important balance of amenities.
“These ideas came from the countless conversations I’ve had with members of our community,” he added. “So, we’re excited for everyone to see what we’ve created.”
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