There’s a quiet confidence to a restaurant that’s grown alongside its neighborhood, shaped as much by the people who walk through the door as by the food coming out of the kitchen. That’s the story of The Kenwood Restaurant in Minneapolis—a place that’s been part of the community for more than a decade and is now entering a new chapter rooted in both history and intention.
The Kenwood first opened in 2012 under the guidance of chef Don Saunders. At the time, a young cook named Joel DeBilzan was already connected to the restaurant, helping where he could before eventually heading west to Seattle. There, Joel sharpened his craft, rising through the ranks to become executive chef at Tavolàta, Ethan Stowell’s flagship restaurant. It was the kind of trajectory that doesn’t usually circle back—until Saunders called in 2018 with an opportunity that felt impossible to ignore.
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