Nick Kokonas and Grant Achatz Want to Take the Aviary Global

Chicago’s Nick Kokonas and Grant Achatz are plotting a global future for the Aviary and the Office. The Alinea team’s set of cocktail bars are the first brands they’ve expanded beyond Chicago, with locations in New York City opening soon. In an interview with Hong Kong Tatler, Kokonas let slip that NYC likely won’t be the last location for the cocktail bars.

Now Kokonas tells Eater the group has discussed opening the Aviary and the Office in Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, and elsewhere in Asia and Europe. But, there are no concrete plans just yet. “We’re about six weeks away from opening in NYC,” the restaurateur says. “So we are making sure this will be terrific before we concentrate on any other location.”

The Office, the Aviary’s smaller, more traditional counterpart, opened in New York’s Mandarin Oriental six weeks ago with $23 cocktails. Construction on the Aviary, which Kokonas has described as “the future” to the Office’s “past,” is still underway. Renderings for the luxe, 95-seat cocktail bar reveal a distinct 90s aesthetic, one that Kokonas believes is replicable internationally.

“I do believe that the aesthetic and offerings of the Aviary and the Office resonate with an international crowd,” Kokonas says, and adds that the Alinea group restaurants in Chicago are already a destination for foreign visitors. “So we will see...but I don't think the NYC Aviary/Office will be the last one.”

• How To Build A Restaurant Empire [Hong Kong Tatler]
• Look Inside The Office, Alinea’s Ultra-Luxe First NYC Venture [ENY]