Redefining dining in the Black Hills
The Canyon Grille
When Marlon and Camille McMakin began planning their latest venture, they returned to a trusted partnership. After collaborating on branding and websites for two of their existing businesses, they invited me to shape the identity of their upcoming restaurant. Set to open in May 2026, The Canyon Grille promises to transform Black Hills dining, a concept that unites menu and atmosphere to honor the best of the region.
Brand / Logo Design
Business Cards
Email Campaign
Social Media
Responsive Website Design
WordPress
Marketing a restaurant that doesn’t exist yet.
Starting with the interior designer’s final rendering, I used ChatGPT’s image editor, with carefully crafted prompts, to add warm lighting to fixtures and to populate the space with various groups of people.
After several attempts, no single generation was perfect. But by combining the best elements from three different iterations in Photoshop, I created a composite that captures the atmosphere that’s being built: warm, inviting, and full of energy.
This hybrid approach respects the original design work while leveraging AI to bridge the gap until opening day. It allows us to start telling Canyon Grille’s story months before the first guest walks through the door.
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Karen Daniel has been an invaluable creative partner for us over the past several years.
Karen first designed the Apple Springs and Boulder Canyon Golf Club websites a couple of years ago, and those projects set the tone for what our digital presence could be. From the very beginning, she demonstrated a remarkable ability to understand our vision, refine it, and bring it to life in a way that felt both elevated and authentic to our brand. She continues to support us with updates and improvements, and her work has consistently kept our sites fresh, modern, and highly functional as our projects have grown.
Most recently, Karen designed the brand and website for The Canyon Grille — a project that required a completely different look, feel, and storytelling approach. Once again, she exceeded expectations. The design is stunning, the user experience is seamless, and the site perfectly captures the restaurant’s identity and the broader transformation happening across Boulder Canyon.
Karen has played a meaningful role in elevating our brands, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with her as we grow.
Marlon McMakin
Proprietor, The Canyon Grille; Managing Partner, Boulder Canyon Golf Club; Owner, Apple Springs at Boulder Canyon
