Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati: 28 Motorized Sun Shades, Three Patios, One Season
The owners of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati were touring other casinos with their contractor when they saw our manual enclosures at The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland in Williamsburg, Kentucky, and said they wanted the same thing, motorized. The contractor searched for us from that patio and found our project portfolio. Three months later our crew was in Cincinnati replacing the worn shades on two gaming patios. The owners liked the result enough to ask for the Hard Rock Cafe patio before the crew had left town.
What we built
- Two gaming patios, May 2026: 24 motorized sun shade curtains in black Nano mesh with black hoods, tracks and weight bars. Eleven on the East patio, thirteen on the West, replacing the worn shades that were already there.
- Sizes: from 52 inches wide up to 163 inches wide, and up to 163 inches (13 feet 7 inches) tall. About 3,200 square feet of shade.
- Controls: three remotes per patio, with the group set to raise and lower every shade on a patio at the same time.
- Hard Rock Cafe patio, August 2026: 4 motorized sun shade curtains, 171 to 208 inches wide and 186 inches (15 feet 6 inches) tall, hung on 8 new powder-coated aluminum 4x4 posts after the old shades came down. About 1,000 square feet.
- No clear vinyl and no doors. This job was shade, airflow and a clean look.
Before and after
The gaming patios opened to the street through mesh fencing, and the original roller shades had given up: fabric sagging in the tracks and torn where it met the bar top. The Hard Rock Cafe patio had thin shades that stretched and waved in the wind. We replaced all of it with keder-track sun shades that stay flat in the opening and disappear into a slim housing when the weather is good.
Four steps, March to August 2026
- Mar 5, 2026: quote for both gaming patios, worked up with the contractor from a site visit and a hand sketch of every opening.
- Apr 13, 2026: into manufacturing after the layout and colors were approved. Black mesh, black metal, no clear windows.
- May 18 to 22, 2026: installed. The West patio went in first, the East patio the next night, with the casino open the whole time.
- May 20 to Aug 17, 2026: the Hard Rock Cafe patio. Measured while the crew was still on site, quoted May 21, deposit in June, old shades torn out and the new ones hung from a boom lift in August.
What made this one different
A casino never closes, so the crew worked around guests on both trips. The gaming patios are indoor rooms that open to the street through security mesh, so the shades had to fit tight to a mix of brick, steel and drywall openings, from 52 inches to over 13 feet wide. Every unit got its own motor and the remotes were grouped per patio, so staff can drop a whole side in one press when the afternoon sun comes around.
The Hard Rock Cafe patio was the harder lift. The openings are 15 feet 6 inches tall with nothing to mount to between the columns, so we set eight aluminum posts, demolished the old shades, and hung four curtains, the widest over 17 feet, working from a boom lift the casino provided.
Project team
- Owner: Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, 1000 Broadway, Cincinnati, Ohio.
- Contractor: Joe Hauser, Hauser Construction Consulting, with KRGC Construction. Joe found us from the patio at The Mint and ran both phases with us.
- Where the idea came from: The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland, Williamsburg, Kentucky, where our manual enclosures are installed.
- Design, fabrication and installation: Southern Patio Enclosures, with our own crew on both trips.
Specs
| System | Motorized sun shade, keder-track retention, 28 units |
| Fabric | Black Nano mesh, flame-rated to NFPA 701 |
| Largest unit | 208 inches wide by 186 inches tall (Hard Rock Cafe patio) |
| Wind rating | Warrantied to 65 mph, deployed. Nano 97/99 shade mesh within size limits is wind tested to 110 mph. |
| Sun control | Nano mesh blocks up to 97% of UV while air keeps moving |
| Warranty | 5 years on motors, 3 years on workmanship |
| Lead time | About 8 weeks from deposit on each phase |
| Installation | Our own crew, both trips, with the casino open. Outlet locations only; we do not do the electrical. |
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