Bartlett 'Bachelorette' alum opens Chicago restaurant
Former "Bachelorette" contestant and Bartlett native Chris Bukowski wants you to fall in love - with his new Chicago sports bar and restaurant.
Bukowski, 30, recently opened Bracket Room at 1315 S. Halsted St. on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. It's the fourth restaurant in the chain and the first in the Midwest (there's one in Arlington, Virginia, and two in Washington, D.C., airports).
The reality TV star-turned-restaurateur was a contestant on ABC's "The Bachelorette" in 2012, making it to the final four on Emily Maynard's season. He also appeared on Andi Dorfman's season in 2014 and on the spinoff shows "Bachelor in Paradise" and "Bachelor Pad."
In his last show, Bukowski was seen as the drunken villain, leading to hateful social media posts about him and even death threats. It put a strain on his family relationships, prompting him to "retire" from TV in 2015.
"I'll be honest, I became obsessed with being on TV, and it led me stumbling down a long, dark, jungle path to embarrassment," he told the show's fans, known as Bachelor Nation, in his televised goodbye speech.
Looking back now, Bukowski says he has no regrets.
"Reality TV didn't ruin my life ... it regressed my life," he said during a phone interview Wednesday from his parents' house in Bartlett, where he's staying the next few months as he gets the new restaurant up and running. "It was a hard time ... but it did end up propelling my career. I learned a lot of lessons and grew from it. I'm still here, and better than ever."
Bukowski, a Bartlett High School alumnus, is currently single and lives in Los Angeles where he runs his own web development and brand marketing agency, as well as the Bracket Room restaurants.
Opening his own restaurant has been a dream of his since he graduated from University of Nevada-Las Vegas with a hospitality management degree.
Bracket Room Chicago will host a grand-opening party Sept. 10. Chicago Bears pregame shows will be held there this fall, with former players making appearances and food specials. They probably will have Monday night viewing parties of "The Bachelor" on the bar's 50 TVs.
Bukowski says Bracket Room is known for its freshly made food. Its specialties are the Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls and World's Best Tater Tots.
So if ABC called tomorrow and asked him to leave his restaurants and come back to the "Bachelor" franchise shows, would he?
"I'd probably pass," Bukowski said, laughing. "I've got so much going on, even though a vacation sounds nice about now."