[1][2] Since the closing on December 20, 2017, of Grace, Alinea remains one of only two Chicago restaurants, with the other one being Smyth, added in 2023, with three Michelin stars.

The symbol has a double meaning: on one hand, Alinea claims to represent a new train of thought about food, but as a restaurant, everything still has to come "off the line".

[7] In October 2008, chef and owner Grant Achatz and co-author Kokonas published Alinea, a hardcover coffee-table book featuring more than 100 of the restaurant's recipes.

[12] In 2020, Alinea served diners from a rooftop when all indoor dining was closed in Illinois during the coronavirus pandemic.

Alinea Group co-owner Nick Kokonas stated the appetizer was "meant to provoke discomfort, conversation, and awareness" but some diners described it as "tacky", "disrespectful", and "insensitive".