  We introduce a theoretical framework to analyze the thermal properties of a
recently proposed "excluded volume" model of quarkyonic matter. This entails
proposing finite temperature distribution functions and entropy functionals
constrained by internal theoretical consistency. We use the formalism developed
here to analyze the effect of temperature on the quark onset as a function of
baryon density. We find that the baryon density at which the quarkyonic phase
emerges decreases only slightly with temperature, an effect produced by large
$N_c$. We furthermore find that a finite temperature increases the density of
quarks produced. The framework presented here can be used to compute the
equation of state of hot and dense quarkyonic matter which is of relevance to
neutron star mergers.
