Nick Kokonas is an American restaurant executive and author.[1]
Early life and education
Born and raised in sunset fields, Northbrook IL, only child of Greek parents, Kokonas graduated from Colgate University with a degree in philosophy.[1]
Career
Prior to meeting Grant Achatz and forming their business partnership, Kokonas was the owner of a derivatives trading firm for 10 years, and was an investor and entrepreneur.[1]
Kokonas's restaurants Next, Alinea, and The Aviary served as a testing and development ground for his proprietary ticketing system called Tock.[2] Kokonas's system allows for dynamic pricing for restaurant tickets/reservations. Some of the earliest adopters include, Thomas Keller's The French Laundry and Per Se and Daniel Patterson's Coi.[2] In 2021 Tock was acquired by Squarespace for over $400 million.[3]
Alinea has been named the best restaurant in North America by publications as diverse as Gourmet Magazine, the World's 50 Best, and Trip Advisor.[4][5] Next, a shape-shifting restaurant with new menus every 3 or 4 months, won a James Beard award for Best New Restaurant in America in America and was given a 4-star rating from the Chicago Tribune for each of 21 different menus.[6]
Kokonas has been a frequent and often cited guest on top podcasts including the Tim Ferriss Show where his first appearance was the top listened to show for that year.[7]
Personal life
Kokonas and his wife, Dagmara, have two sons.[8]
Published works
- Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, Life, on the Line: A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat March 6, 2012 ISBN 1592406971
References
- ^ a b c Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas Chicago Tribune, Chris Borelli, Archived March 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b DeJesus, Erin (30 November 2014). "Introducing Nick Kokonas's Ticketing System, Tock". Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ Selvam, Ashok (2021-03-31). "Web Giant Squarespace Has Acquired Restaurant Reservation Platform Tock". Eater Chicago. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "A Restaurant That's Really This Good: 2000s Archive : gourmet.com". www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Alinea-Chicago-Restaurant-50Best Discovery". 50B - Discovery. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "Next". The Alinea Group. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ "The Tim Ferriss Show: #341: Nick Kokonas — How to Apply World-Class Creativity to Business, Art, and Life on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
- ^ The Take-Away: Nick Kokonas on Roister, Alinea and Tock Crain's Chicago Business, Christina Le Beau, July 7, 2016