The Clarion Hotel Marina & Conference Center on Dunkirk’s waterfront is set to get a new bar and brewery after the city Planning Board approved a site plan this week.

Steelbound Brewery and Distillery, which has outlets in Buffalo and Ellicottville, intends to open its third site in the Clarion. It will renovate and expand an outdoor bar area next to the hotel’s restaurant that has gone little-used since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Steelbound stated in its application to the Planning Board that it will enclose the existing outdoor bar area, build a small brewery and distillery, then rebuild the bar within the distillery.

Mark Baerwaldt, a partner in Steelbound, offered a brief presentation to the Planning Board Wednessay.

He said the biggest changes visible from the outside will be the new doors and wall, a 10- by 20-foot freestanding outdoor beverage cooler and a new sidewalk configuration when the project is finished. Also, some shrubbery will probably have to be torn out to get the cooler in.

Signage is planned for the site, Baerwaldt said, but it’s unclear what form that will take. Steelbound will have to get Planning Board approval for its signage, when it firms up a plan for that.

The business will operate year-round.

Planning Board member Ed Schober expressed concern that the cooler could detract from the appearance of the hotel. Baerwaldt said the cooler will actually be closer to the pool. It will also be in an enclosure.

Board members, including Schober, showed excitement about the project and said it will be a great enhancement to Dunkirk’s waterfront.

Schober motioned to approve the site plan — contingent on the signage, the cooler enclosure and any other unexpected issues that could come up. The Planning Board approved the motion unanimously.

As he left the meeting room, Baerwaldt mentioned that Steelbound already has four beers on tap in the Clarion’s indoor bar area.