Atlanta-based Cooper Carry has acquired locally based restaurant design firm the Johnson Studio. The transition is expected to be seamless, with the Johnson Studio retaining its existing clients.
In merging, the firm will provide an expanded menu of services for both restaurant and hotel design.
“We have long admired [the Johnson Studio’s] work and the creative solutions they bring to their projects,” says Cooper Carry CEO Kevin Cantley. “Now by joining forces, we are delighted to have them work alongside our talented hotel and retail team every day. This new alliance will provide significant opportunities for our clients to continue to receive the highest level of service and superior design for which both firms are noted for.”
The Johnson Studio will retain its name and continue to focus on interior design and architecture for hospitality and standalone restaurant projects. It will expand its services within Cooper Carry’s hospitality studios in Atlanta, New York, and Washington, DC. The firm will join Cooper Carry’s Atlanta office.
Bill Johnson, president and founder of the Johnson Studio, will continue to lead the restaurant design practice, and will also collaborate with Cooper Carry’s seven hospitality studio principals in seeking opportunities.
Adds Johnson: “People go to restaurants to not only enjoy a great menu but an atmosphere that bolsters the experience. The Johnson Studio understands this dynamic relationship between food and place—the emotional connection between what we eat and where we eat it.”
“Engaging a fundamental design philosophy centered around the concept that environments should connect people to people and people to place, Cooper Carry practices the philosophy of ‘connective architecture,’” Cantley says. “Designers understand the local market and the specific cultural and physical contexts in which the building will serve those who interact with it while conceiving memorable spaces, inside and out. It’s no different from what the Johnson Studio has incorporated in their outstanding work.”
