Why Alinea Will Never Open In New York

Sometimes it feels like all New Yorkers ever talk about is whether or not Grant Achatz is going to open a branch of Alinea in the Big Apple. While he’s not averse to the idea of branching out to other cities, the branch in question almost certainly wouldn’t be an Alinea clone: “We wouldn’t want to do Alinea [in New York] because, think about this: If we open an Alinea in New York that is better than the one in Chicago, Chicago loses. If we open one that’s the same as Chicago, both restaurants lose. And if we open one that’s worse, then both restaurants lose. So it’s a lose-lose-lose. We would have to come up with a completely different concept. There’s no other way.” [Metromix]

[Photo courtesy Alinea]

Why Alinea Will Never Open In New York