A familiar sight on the stretch of Cole Street near downtown’s edge has been altered as a local restaurant has sought to change its image.

The Hornet’s Nest, which sat at 1343 Cole St. for two years, has changed its name to Cole Street Bar and Grill.

The sign went up following a remodel that restructured the dining area, painted over the gold and burgundy interior and removed the old sign featuring a cartoon hornet similar to Enumclaw High School’s mascot.

“Our logo was close to the high school’s and several times a regular customer would bring in a friend and they would say they never came in because they thought it was a student hangout,” said Tracy LaVelle, who co-owns the restaurant with her boyfriend Francisco Javier Ruiz. “Other people said they thought it was a burger joint because of the other Hornet’s Nest that used to be in town.”

After the same situation played out again in January, LaVelle told Ruiz that was it: they needed to change their image to bring in more customers.

They convinced their landlord, who LaVelle said preferred using the school colors, to allow them to repaint. Then they remodeled the bar section of the restaurant to appear more separated from the general dining area. The interior of the restaurant is now light burgundy; furniture in the bar area is elevated and dark black, differentiating itself from the booths and light wood tables in the dining area.

Work was done two to three hours a night after closing time, allowing the restaurant to stay open during the remodel.

The restaurant’s hours have also changed. Instead of closing at 8 p.m. every day of the week, the restaurant will remain open an additional two hours Tuesday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will close early at 3 p.m. on Sunday, and Mondays will see the restaurant closed entirely.

“We’ve worked seven days a week for two years, so it will be nice to have the day off, and Monday was our slowest day anyway,” LaVelle said.

The changes have brought in some new business but they hope to bring in more, she said. Despite the changes, LaVelle wanted to reassure customers the restaurant had changed in name and appearance only.

“We’re a family owned business and we want people to know we’re still the same family restaurant we’ve always been,” she said.