Design and Engineering

What Design and Engineering does

Design and Engineering, Inc. is a privately held, full-service architecture and engineering firm founded in 1978 and headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. The firm provides an integrated, in-house offering across six service lines: architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, interior design, permit expediting, and due diligence. It maintains professional licensure in 48 U.S. states and serves national, multi-unit commercial clients — primarily restaurant chains — requiring consistent design and engineering execution across many geographic locations. The firm operates on a professional services revenue model, billing project-based fees for design, engineering, construction administration, and permitting work, with no public pricing disclosed and direct client engagement as the sole distribution channel.

The firm's core technology stack is conventional A&E tooling — Revit for 3D modeling and BIM, AutoCAD for construction documents — rather than proprietary software. Its competitive differentiation rests on multi-disciplinary integration under one roof, deep permitting relationships across jurisdictions, and co-developed prototype libraries with major restaurant brands (notably Buffalo Wild Wings' "Stadia" and "Center Stage" prototypes and over a dozen Cracker Barrel prototypes). Anchor relationships include Cracker Barrel (600+ stores designed over 40+ years) and Buffalo Wild Wings (300+ locations, plus 200+ franchisee rollouts via Grube Inc.), with additional work for Arby's, Chipotle, Bojangles, Church's Chicken, Captain D's, Dunkin', and others.

The firm has been founder-led for 43 years; in 2021, Jim Craig transitioned to Founder and Ryan Nicholson assumed the presidency. A second leadership tier was formalized in January 2026 with promotions of Benjamin Setlock to VP Architecture and William Craig to VP Engineering. The firm shows no external institutional investment, no subsidiaries, no acquisitions, and no AI/ML capabilities. It currently operates with 11-50 employees and is expanding modestly into adjacent verticals (hospitality, hotel design) while deepening its franchisee development relationships.

Name

Design and Engineering

Legal name

Design and Engineering, Inc.

Website

https://dandeinc.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Design and Engineering, Inc. is a Franklin, Tennessee-based architecture and engineering firm serving national multi-unit restaurant and hospitality clients with in-house architecture, civil/structural engineering, interior design, permitting, and due diligence services licensed across 48 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture and Engineering Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Engineering Services (54133), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Civil engineering consulting
• Structural engineering services
• Interior design services
• Permit expediting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Franklin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Architecture and Engineering: D and E provides comprehensive design and engineering services for multi-location commercial development projects. Services include architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, interior design, permit expediting, and due diligence. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for design projects, construction administration, and permitting services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Design and Engineering is a multi-disciplinary design firm providing architecture, civil engineering, structural engineering, interior design, permit expediting, and due diligence services to national, multi-unit commercial clients. The firm operates as a one-stop-shop with all six disciplines coordinated in-house, supporting clients from initial feasibility and due diligence through construction administration and project closeout across the United States.

Product overview

Design and Engineering, Inc. is a full-service architecture and engineering firm offering a unified platform of services for multi-unit commercial development. The company's core offering consists of six integrated service lines: Architecture Services, Civil Engineering Services, Structural Engineering Services, Interior Design Services, Permit Expediting Services, and Due Diligence Services. These services are designed to work in coordination with one another, providing clients with a one-stop-shop solution for designing and establishing innovative commercial locations from start to finish. The firm specializes in restaurant and hospitality design, having designed over 300 Buffalo Wild Wings locations and 600+ Cracker Barrel stores across the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full architectural services for commercial and multi-unit development projects, including as-built surveys, building feasibility studies, test fit planning, programming, conceptual renderings, 3D modeling, construction documents, project manuals and specifications, consultant coordination, construction administration, and prototype development and management.
• Civil Engineering Services Civil engineering services for site development including site feasibility, preliminary design, master planning, construction documents, stormwater design, erosion prevention and sediment control, and construction administration for commercial development projects.
• Structural Engineering Services Structural engineering services including structural analysis and design, site visits, structural calculations, value engineering, construction documents, and construction administration for commercial projects.
• Interior Design Services Interior design services including schematic design, design development, site visits, programming, furniture finishes and equipment (FF&E) selection, construction documents, and procurement for commercial and hospitality projects.
• Permit Expediting Services Permit expediting services including permit applications and submittals, permit management, project coordination, preliminary utility confirmations, representation at public meetings, and schedule tracking and project planning across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
• Due Diligence Services Due diligence services for commercial real estate development including code analysis, pre-development research, developer coordination, lease review, meetings with local jurisdictions, accessibility surveys, and preliminary site investigation reports used by owners and investors to evaluate site feasibility.
• Restaurant Concept Design Specialized multi-disciplinary design program for restaurant chains and quick-service restaurants, including ground-up construction, remodels, conversions, and prototype development for brands such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel, Arby's, Dunkin', Chipotle, Bojangles, and others.
• Office Concept Design Commercial office space design services including corporate office build-outs, tenant improvements, and renovations for clients such as BrickTop's Corporate Office, NBC Office, and Westgate Office.

Quantifiable outcome

• Designed 300+ Buffalo Wild Wings locations across the nation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Inspire BrandscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInspire Brands is the parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings and other restaurant brands. D and E has expanded their design portfolio to assist other brands under Inspire Brands following BWW's acquisition by Inspire. The firm collaborates with Inspire on prototype development and design standards.
• A.Ray HospitalitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA.Ray Hospitality is the ownership/development group behind M.L.Rose restaurants. D and E has partnered with them on multiple locations throughout the greater Nashville area, working closely to bring the neighborhood pub concept to life in unique and thoughtful ways.
• Bluemont Group, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBluemont Group is a development partner for Dunkin' projects and other restaurant developments. D and E works with them as architect on projects including Dunkin' 8th Avenue Nashville, providing full design and permitting services.
• Grube, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrube, Inc. is one of the largest Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee groups in the U.S. D and E has worked hand-in-hand with their team for over 10 years as they have continued to expand, completing 200+ locations.
• Heritage Construction and Development / Fresh Capital & Hospitality GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeritage Construction serves as exclusive Owner's Representative for the Fresh Capital & Hospitality Group. D and E works with them on restaurant development projects, providing preliminary site assessments and full design services.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GreenbergFarrow: Architecture, engineering, and planning firm with a strong QSR/restaurant practice providing full-service design for multi-unit retail and restaurant clients — directly comparable offering across architecture, civil/structural engineering, and permitting.
• WD Partners: Design and consulting firm specializing in restaurant and retail brand experience, including new-store design, prototype development, and rollouts for multi-unit operators — directly comparable to D and E's restaurant-chain focus.
• FRCH Design Worldwide: Architecture and design firm with a deep restaurant, hospitality, and retail portfolio; serves national brands on prototype design and rollouts, comparable to D and E's multi-unit commercial development model.
• NELSON Worldwide: Integrated design firm with practices in retail, restaurant, and hospitality architecture and interior design; serves national multi-unit brands on rollouts and remodels comparable to D and E's core market.
• Vocon: Architecture and interiors firm with a significant restaurant, retail, and workplace practice serving multi-unit brands and franchisees on prototype and rollout design, mirroring D and E's multi-disciplinary restaurant focus.
• Antunovich Associates: Architecture and planning firm known for restaurant, retail, and hospitality design; provides full architectural and engineering services to national multi-unit operators, directly comparable in scope and customer profile.
• Ware Malcomb: Commercial architecture firm with dedicated retail and restaurant practices providing architecture, interior design, and engineering for multi-location rollouts, directly comparable in services and customer type.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Large multi-disciplinary design and engineering firm with a significant architecture, buildings, and commercial development practice; competes for the same national multi-unit clients as D and E but at much larger scale and broader service breadth.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture and design firm with broad commercial, hospitality, and retail practice; competes for large multi-unit commercial clients with deeper geographic reach than D and E.
• DLR Group: Integrated design firm offering architecture, engineering, and planning across commercial, hospitality, and retail sectors; competes for national account work at larger scale than D and E but in overlapping categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-and-engineering
• Instagraminstagram.com/dandeinc.us

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 Design and Engineering