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Last Chance (Literally) For Next El Bulli Table; Over $325,000 Raised

Next owners Nick Kokonas and Grant Achatz
Next owners Nick Kokonas and Grant Achatz

Next’s innovative Dutch auction for two-tops, one per night of service, with proceeds to go to the University of Chicago Cancer Center where Grant Achatz was treated, is almost over. It’s not exactly clear how many of the 73 tables are left; the auction site shows four left, but Nick Kokonas tweeted last night that it was down to one. Either way, over $325,000 has been raised, a truly impressive sum in such a short time. Incidentally, the lucky (and well-heeled) few who nabbed tables for around $5,000 each could have wound up paying more— Kokonas also revealed in a tweet that the price was set where it was because that was the maximum that the University of Chicago was set to accept online. In any case, it’s clearly a success judged by the standard Kokonas tweeted when the auction went live: “How to raise money for a great cause… without the black tie bullshit :-)”

Last Chance (Literally) For Next El Bulli Table; Over $325,000 Raised