A Rather Unusual Restaurant is the “Next” Big Thing

Well this has to be one of the most unique ways to generate buzz for a new restaurant. The “Next” restaurant in Chicago doesn’t sell people food ala cart. Nor do they sell people an all you can eat menu. Instead, they sell seats in the restaurant in much the same way that a baseball stadium might sell seats to see the home team (in this case, the Cubs or the White Sox).

Next, which is run by the famous and somewhat eccentric chef Grant Achantz, sells tickets for their restaurant at prices ranging from $45-$75. The price is based on where you’ll be sitting and what time you’ll get to do so rather than the amount of food you’ll get to enjoy. The seats overlook the kitchen, where people can gawk at the food as it’s being prepared and enjoy a kind of “ringside” view of the food preparation business.

In addition to the unusual seating arrangements and pricing, Next is also a rotating restaurant. No, it doesn’t physically rotate the way Windows on the World used to do. It rotates its menu every few months so that the experience of eating in the restaurant is almost always going to be a unique culinary experience. Currently, the fare in this place is French though in a few months time, it will change to something else entirely.

One more thing that makes the experience at Next unique is the price of the tickets to see the show. While the face value is a rather reasonable $45-$75, the restaurant has attracted quite a lot of buzz and as such, tickets to the place are being scalped in much the same way that tickets are scalped on the sidewalks outside of sporting events. Current costs for a ticket to Next, which is booked solid for the next several month are exceeding $3,000. Not bad for a ringside seat to an industrial kitchen.

Tags: Next Restaurant