2 days ago
Alinea Group Shutters Its Fulton Market Live-Fire Restaurant After Less Than a Year
Chef Grant Achatz and Alinea Group have decided to close Fire, the restaurant that replaced Roister in Fulton Market. The restaurant opened in November. It was Alinea Group's first new restaurant opening in eight years.
A newsletter blast sent on Tuesday, June 10, to customers explains that Alinea Group is leaving the Fulton Market space with their lease soon expiring. Saturday, June 28 will be the restaurant's final service. Roister closed in November, and the St. Clair Supper Club, which occupied the restaurant's basement, followed. The changes came about a month after the Alinea Group announced co-founder Nick Kokonas's departure. Fellow tech entrepreneur Jason Weingarten has since stepped into Kokonas's role.
Alinea Group maintains a presence in Fulton Market with Next Restaurant and the Aviary.
Fire was a relatively affordable tasting menu that employed Roister's hearth with Achatz saying the food would be built around flames. It's been quite an eventful time for Achatz who was recently featured in a New York Times story about how chefs are deploying AI.
Achatz's use of ChatGPT is reminiscent of a role-playing game where players invent a character. Achtaz created 'Jill,' a fictional cook and fed the platform details including work history and family background. In turn, the AI bot spat out recipes showcasing 'Jill's' personal and professional influences. The dishes will comprises a 2026 menu at Chicago chef who worked at Next, Jenner Tomaska, is also featured in the story. He's since gone on to open Esme, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Lincoln Par See More: Chicago Restaurant Closings
