The Dearborn

What The Dearborn does

The Dearborn is a family-owned upscale American tavern restaurant founded in 2016 by Irish-born sisters Amy and Clodagh Lawless in Chicago's Loop at 145 North Dearborn Street. The business operates two physical locations: the original downtown flagship with a spacious dining room, leather booths, and the private Rialto Room, plus a 2024-2025 satellite at O'Hare International Airport Terminal 5 led by Executive Chef Aaron Cuschieri as Chef Partner. The menu is Midwest-focused elevated tavern cuisine featuring signature dishes including a Fish & Chips that defeated Bobby Flay on Food Network in 2019, the Dearborn Burger, and Chicago-style tavern pizzas, with brunch and a recurring Sunday Jazz Brunch live-music offering.

Revenue is generated primarily through dine-in service (lunch, dinner, brunch), supplemented by takeout and delivery through GrubHub, DoorDash, Ritual, and a commission-free Tock-powered 'Dearborn Direct' channel, private events at The Rialto Room, gift cards via Toast Tab, and a small retail line of bottled house-made sauces. Pricing is unit-based at mid-premium levels (lunch $20-27, dinner entrees $28-55, cocktails $14-18), with a 3.25% operational surcharge on all checks. Marketing relies on organic social, email capture, earned media (Forbes, VinePair, Chicago Tribune, Eater, FSR, WGN-TV), and event-driven promotions. The technology stack is commodity restaurant SaaS (BentoBox website, OpenTable reservations, TripleSeat for private events), and the business is privately held with no outside capital, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity.

Name

The Dearborn

Legal name

The Dearborn

Website

https://thedearborntavern.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Dearborn is a family-owned upscale American tavern in Chicago founded in 2016 by sisters Amy and Clodagh Lawless, operating a flagship Loop restaurant and an O'Hare Terminal 5 outpost serving Midwest-focused cuisine, private events, and takeout to downtown professionals, visitors, and travelers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Upscale American Tavern / Restaurant Dining

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Upscale American tavern
• Midwest-focused cuisine
• Private dining events
• Chicago Loop restaurant
• Airport terminal dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Service: Revenue from in-restaurant dining including lunch, dinner, and brunch service. The restaurant operates with extended hours from 11am-11pm on weekdays and 10am-11pm on weekends.
2. Private Dining Events: The Rialto Room provides private event space for 24 seated and 35 cocktail reception guests, with customizable menus and A/V capabilities for corporate events, weddings, and celebrations.
3. Takeout and Delivery: Direct to-go ordering through their website, plus partnerships with GrubHub, DoorDash, and Ritual for delivery services. Featured items include tavern pizzas and bottled sauces.
4. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards through Toast Tab platform for customer gifting occasions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Dearborn operates an upscale American tavern in downtown Chicago's Loop neighborhood at 145 North Dearborn Street, offering Midwest-focused lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch service led by Executive Chef Aaron Cuschieri. The business also operates a second location at O'Hare International Airport Terminal 5, hosts private dining events in The Rialto Room, offers takeout and delivery through both direct website ordering and third-party platforms, and sells bottled signature sauces and gift cards.

Product overview

The Dearborn is an American upscale tavern restaurant operating as a single unified hospitality brand with two locations: the flagship downtown Chicago restaurant (opened 2016) and an airport location at O'Hare Terminal 5 (opened 2024). The core offering centers on Chef Aaron Cuschieri's Midwest-focused elevated tavern cuisine, featuring signature items like the award-winning Fish & Chips (which beat Bobby Flay), the Dearborn Burger, and Chicago-style Tavern Pizzas. The business integrates third-party delivery platforms (GrubHub, DoorDash, Ritual) alongside proprietary Dearborn Direct ordering and OpenTable reservations. Beyond dine-in service, The Dearborn offers private event hosting through The Rialto Room (booked via TripleSeat), retail bottled sauces, recipe content, and weekly promotional events including Happy Hour Mondays and Sunday Jazz Brunch. The restaurant is co-owned and operated by sisters Amy and Clodagh Lawless, whose Irish heritage informs the establishment's hospitality philosophy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Dearborn Downtown Chicago Upscale American tavern in Chicago's Loop at 145 North Dearborn Street, offering Midwest-focused lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch service with signature dishes including award-winning Fish & Chips, Dearborn Burger, and Chicago-style tavern pizzas. Designed for professionals, theater-goers, museum visitors, and Loop shoppers seeking elevated but unpretentious tavern dining.
• The Dearborn at O'Hare Airport Airport restaurant at O'Hare International Airport Terminal 5 offering a selection of signature Dearborn flavors and dishes for travelers with the same quality as the downtown Chicago location. Targets travelers seeking familiar quality dining options before or after flights.
• The Rialto Room Private Dining Private dining room within The Dearborn featuring vaulted ceilings, a private bar, A/V capabilities, and elevator access. Accommodates 24 seated guests or 35 for cocktail receptions with customizable menus that can accommodate vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dietary needs. Targeted at corporate events, weddings, rehearsal dinners, showers, and other celebrations.
• Dearborn Direct (To-Go Service) Direct takeout and delivery service allowing customers to order The Dearborn's food through the restaurant's website with no platform fees. Powered by Exploretock/Tock, providing a commission-free ordering channel as an alternative to third-party delivery platforms.
• The Dearborn Gift Cards Gift cards for The Dearborn available for purchase through the Toast Tab platform, enabling customers to give the gift of dining at the restaurant for gifting occasions.
• Dearborn Bottled Sauces (Retail) House-made signature sauces, including house-made ranch dressing, bottled for retail purchase allowing home cooks to use Dearborn's signature flavor products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Top 100 Restaurants in America for 2022 by OpenTable
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GrubHubcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partnership allowing customers to order The Dearborn favorites for pickup or delivery through GrubHub platform. Featured items include Dearborn Tavern Pizzas and house-made ranch dressing.
• RitualcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOrdering platform partnership through Ritual for pickup and delivery options, allowing customers to access The Dearborn menu through the Ritual app.
• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDelivery partnership through DoorDash for customer convenience in ordering The Dearborn for delivery.
• OpenTablecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReservation platform partnership enabling customers to book tables at The Dearborn through OpenTable's booking system.
• Toast TabminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGift card sales platform partnership through Toast Tab for customer gifting occasions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Maple & Ash: Upscale Chicago steakhouse in the Gold Coast targeting celebratory/professional diners with premium price points comparable to The Dearborn's $50+ steak entrees.
• RPM Steak: River North upscale steakhouse and adjacent RPM Italian concept (BOKA Restaurant Group). Competes for the same high-spend downtown Chicago diner with elevated chef-driven menus.
• The Irish Oak: Earlier Chicago restaurant venture of the Lawless sisters (Amy and Clodagh) in Wrigleyville. Same operators, same Irish-heritage hospitality positioning — direct lineage peer.
• Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse: Iconic Chicago steakhouse/tavern destination serving upscale American fare in the River North corridor. Operates a similar high-volume, polished-casual format aimed at power-lunch and pre-theater audiences.
• Bavette's Bar & Boeuf: Hogsalt Hospitality Chicago steakhouse serving French-influenced American fare in a bustling tavern atmosphere. Highly comparable format, audience, and price point to The Dearborn downtown.
• The Publican (O'Hare): One Off Hospitality group operates an O'Hare Terminal 3 outpost of The Publican, making it a direct cross-terminal competitor to The Dearborn's Terminal 5 location for air-traveler dining spend.
• The Gage: Upscale American tavern in Chicago's Loop serving similar gastropub-style fare. Both proprietors (Lawless sisters) previously worked at The Gage, making it a direct operational and concept predecessor and the most natural peer.
• Tortoise Supper Club: Classic Chicago supper club offering steak-and-cocktails dining in an unpretentious, polished setting. Conceptually mirrors The Dearborn's tavern identity with comparable price architecture.

Broad incumbents

• Boka Restaurant: BOKA Restaurant Group's flagship fine dining venue in Lincoln Park. While more formal than The Dearborn, Executive Chef Cuschieri's Alinea pedigree overlaps with the Boka group's Michelin-starred chef talent pool, making it a peer for chef-driven Chicago fine-dining.

Regional players

• Tortas Frontera (O'Hare): Rick Bayless's Tortas Frontera location at O'Hare — competing terminal-concession dining concept targeting the same O'Hare traveler base as The Dearborn's airport location.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thedearbornchi
• Facebookfacebook.com/thedearbornchi
• Instagraminstagram.com/thedearbornchi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-dearborn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Dearborn