Avec, the Mediterranean-inspired shared-plates restaurant that has anchored Chicago's West Loop for more than two decades, will open its doors to the public in Highwood on October 29, marking the acclaimed group's first foray into the northern suburbs. Reservations for the new location at 250 Waukegan Avenue open October 1, giving North Shore diners a firm date after months of anticipation surrounding the project.
The Highwood opening was formally announced in a news release dated September 3 and first reported by NBC Chicago, which detailed the restaurant's design and menu direction. Avec first opened in the West Loop in 2003 and expanded to River North in 2021, meaning the Highwood location will become its third overall and its first outside city limits. The project combines two buildings into a roughly 5,000-square-foot venue that, per an earlier account from The Record North Shore, accommodates up to 115 seats across its dining room and bar.
Per the NBC Chicago report, the main dining room will seat 95 guests beneath a wood-soffited ceiling, with a barroom built around a U-shaped, marble-backed bar counter and booths lining the dining room. Donnie Madia of One Off Hospitality said avec felt like a natural fit for Highwood after the company listened to the community, according to the release cited by NBC Chicago. Highwood City Manager Scott Coren said the city was thrilled that One Off Hospitality chose the community for its first North Shore concept, adding that the group's approach fits Highwood's tradition of hospitality, per the same release.
A Former Boxing Gym Gets a Second Building
One Off Hospitality has been building the restaurant inside a former boxing gym since the project was first reported in September 2025. The scope grew this year when the Highwood City Council approved the $250,000 sale of the adjacent municipal property at 244 Waukegan Road to One Off Hospitality, according to The Record North Shore. The deal, finalized in April, lets avec expand its footprint beyond the original gym site and paves the way for a dedicated private events space slated to open in spring 2027.
The redevelopment agreement also granted the city a permanent access easement through the parcel to guarantee municipal ingress and egress to City Hall, the same outlet reported. Madia said conversations with Highwood residents revealed strong interest in a dedicated event space, according to the release, and One Off Hospitality plans to bring the same private dining opportunity available at its West Loop location to the suburban outpost. Construction timelines shifted from initial spring 2026 estimates toward the October 2026 launch, with Thomas Schlesser designing the restaurant and Dylan Patel directing its culinary program.
Same Design Team, Same Culinary Roots
The Highwood restaurant was designed by France-based architect Thomas Schlesser of Design Bureaux, who also designed the original West Loop avec and One Off Hospitality's former flagship, Blackbird, according to Highland Park Patch. That architectural continuity extends to the kitchen: Executive Chef Dylan Patel, a Northwest suburban native who has spent a decade at avec overseeing both the West Loop and River North kitchens, is directing the Highwood culinary program, per WTTW Chicago.
The menu will lean on avec's Mediterranean-inspired shared plates and ingredients sourced from local farmers, according to NBC Chicago's reporting. The suburban menu will draw on that Mediterranean-inspired shared-plates approach. One Off Hospitality, which traces its roots to the 1997 founding of Blackbird and also operates Big Star, The Violet Hour and The Publican, has accumulated 12 James Beard Foundation Awards across its restaurant portfolio as of 2025, per The Record North Shore's earlier coverage.
Highwood's Restaurant Row Draws a Chicago Heavyweight
Avec's arrival is One Off Hospitality's second suburban venture, following the 2023 opening of Publican Quality Bread in Oak Park, Highland Park Patch notes. Highwood's restaurant scene includes institutions such as Del Rio, open since 1923, and Froggy's French Cafe, running since 1980.
The Highwood debut also lands amid broader changes across One Off Hospitality's Chicago properties. In February, the group quietly reworked its West Loop flagship, removing The Publican's signature long communal tables and updating its menu under chef Rob Levitt, even as it pushed ahead with the Highwood expansion. Reservations for avec Highwood open October 1, ahead of the restaurant's October 29 public debut.
