Colin Benson Thanks Supporters as Cozy Inn Mural Nears Completion

Artist Colin Benson shared a brief message of thanks as work on the Cozy Inn mural appears to be finishing up.

In a recent Facebook update, Benson thanked everyone who stopped by and supported the project, adding a special thanks to the “Cozy family.”

“Thank you everyone who stopped by and supported us,” Benson wrote.

The mural has become one of the more closely watched pieces of public art in Salina, not only because of its connection to the historic Cozy Inn, but because of the legal fight that followed it.

The artwork, painted on the outside wall of The Cozy Inn in Downtown Salina, features a whimsical scene with burger-like flying saucers and blasts of ketchup and mustard. The project was commissioned by Cozy Inn owner Steve Howard and painted by Benson, bringing a playful addition to a downtown already known for public murals.

But the project became the center of a larger dispute after the City of Salina ordered work on the mural to stop, treating it as a regulated sign rather than simply artwork. Howard challenged the city’s decision, arguing the mural was protected expression.

A federal judge later ruled that the city violated the First Amendment when it ordered the work stopped, finding problems with how the city distinguished between signs and murals based on content. The ruling did not end every legal question in the case, but it marked a major moment in a dispute that turned a small downtown burger mural into a local free speech issue.

Now, with Benson indicating the work is finishing up, the mural stands as more than a colorful addition to Cozy Inn. It has become part of Salina’s downtown art story, part of Cozy’s long history, and part of a larger debate over where city regulation ends and protected expression begins.

For Benson and the Cozy family, the latest update was simple: thanks to the people who showed up, supported the work, and followed along as the mural moved from unfinished wall to downtown conversation piece.