FoodPosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 10:24 pmFoodDesk To timeline

Starts 05/04/2005 CONFIRMED 93% CONFIDENCEThe source^[1] dates it to the day: "The restaurant opened on May 4, 2005, and takes its name from the symbol alinea, which is featured as a logo."

Start: May 4, 200590% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

2/3MICHELIN Guide

Alinea Opens in Chicago

Grant Achatz's "maximalist modernist" restaurant opened on a Lincoln Park side street and went on to hold three Michelin stars from 2011 to 2024. It is named after the alinea, the paragraph symbol that is also its logo.

Alinea opened on 4 May 2005, owned by chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, and is known for its "maximalist modernist cooking". [S]
It held three Michelin stars from 2011 to 2024 and was downgraded to two in 2025. [S]
The MICHELIN Guide lists it as a Two Stars: Excellent cooking restaurant in the 2025 Guide USA, at the $$$$ price band. [1]
It closed temporarily on 1 January 2016, ran pop-ups worldwide, and reopened on 20 May 2016 after a remodel and menu overhaul. [S]
In 2020 it served diners from a rooftop while indoor dining was closed in Illinois. [S]

FoodDesk

References 293% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alinea_(restaurant)
en.wikipedia.org· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts May 4, 2005 ✓· 50% of score
The source dates it to the day: "The restaurant opened on May 4, 2005, and takes its name from the symbol alinea, which is featured as a logo."
[2]95%
Alinea – Chicago - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant
guide.michelin.com· Added Sep 21, 2026· 50% of score
The MICHELIN Guide's own entry, which states "a Two Stars: Excellent cooking restaurant in the 2025 MICHELIN Guide USA" and the $$$$ price band - the current rating the pin records.

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