Nick Kokonas


Nick Kokonas is an American restaurant executive and author.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Chicago, Kokonas graduated from Colgate University with a degree in philosophy.

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.
Kokonas's restaurants Next, Alinea, and The Aviary served as a testing and development ground for his proprietary ticketing system called Tock. 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.

Personal life

Kokonas and his wife, Dagmara, have two sons. Kokonas finds peanuts and peanut butter to be "repulsive".

Published works