How profitable was Alinea, according to Nick Kokonas?

Nick Kokonas says Alinea did about $5 million in sales in its first year at a 7 to 8 percent margin, and at its peak did over $20 million a year at 18 to 20 percent. Investors received quarterly distributions from 2005 until he sold the Alinea Group in 2023, got 8x their money at the sale and about 27 to 28x overall. He calls the idea that restaurants are a bad business a skill issue.

• Kokonas says reaching those margins required building software and removing phone lines.
• He says he emailed a famous TV chef during COVID to dispute claims that restaurants make 2 to 3 percent at best.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on My First Million (2026-10-26). Read the whole episode summary →

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