Dunne Kozlowski doesn't hand off your architectural plans and hope for the best. The Chicago firm—led by partners Corey Dunne and Paul Kozlowski—handles architecture, interior design, branding, procurement, and construction administration under one roof. That matters because most restaurant failures stem from misalignment between the people drawing the space and the people building it.
"We're not just after a pretty picture on the cover of a magazine," Kozlowski says. "Our goal is to solve the entire equation for a hospitality experience: business results, operations, and consumer-facing elements alike."
The firm started as a traditional architectural practice 25 years ago. Dunne and Kozlowski quickly realized that once plans left their hands, friction followed—delays, cost overruns, design compromises. So they brought interior design in-house first, then kept integrating services that typically cause headaches. Today they manage the full lifecycle, which means fewer cooks in the kitchen and a single point of accountability.
"One of our clients was named 'Best New Italian Restaurant,' but they didn't follow our layout recommendations," Dunne says. "That disrupted the flow of the space, made service inefficient, compromised the guest experience, and ultimately contributed to the restaurant closing within nine months." Operational flow isn't optional. A beautiful dining room that bottlenecks service or confuses guests will kill repeat visits faster than bad food.
Take Adalina Prime, the upscale steakhouse in Chicago's Fulton Market. Dunne Kozlowski inherited a 10,500-square-foot box—two stories of glass, narrow footprint, corporate and cold. They added curved wooden arches to create focal points, blurred the line between indoors and out, and designed sightlines that pull guests through the space. Now it works for lunch and dinner, casual and upscale. One guest walked in, felt the energy, and hired the firm to design their home.
The firm's work on Mosu in Albany, New York, opened doors beyond Chicago. That modern Asian concept elevated the city's restaurant scene enough that Dunne Kozlowski became the go-to for Toro, Sea Smoke, and The Scene. "Whether in Chicago or beyond, we're able to elevate brands to the same level of quality," Dunne says.
Dunne Kozlowski plans to expand its design-build approach nationwide. The pitch is simple: one firm, one vision, no surprises. In a market where construction costs and timelines can torpedo a concept before it opens, eliminating friction isn't a luxury—it's survival.
