A former Colts linebacker beloved in Indianapolis is hoping to attract new fans for his franchised restaurant chain with a location in Columbus.
Gary Brackett is scouting for a spot to locate his Columbus Stacked Pickle restaurant chain — and he’s focusing on the city’s west side.
Describing his newest business enterprise as a modern sports bar with price points that customers appreciate, Brackett said he is looking for the right franchise partner. If all goes as planned, the new sports bar could be in place sometime next year, he said.
If that occurs, Stacked Pickle will be part of a restaurant renaissance on the west side, as two new restaurants are finishing construction along Jonathan Moore Pike and another is planning to move west out of the city’s commercial area.
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McAlister’s Deli and Panda Express are being built in separate, but neighboring units on the south side of Jonathan Moore Pike, between Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers and Buffalo Wild Wings. Texas Roadhouse will relocate its 25th Street location near FairOaks Mall to the west side of Columbus next year just east of Interstate 65. The steakhouse chain is planning to build an 8,000-square-foot restaurant on 3.57 acres on the north side of Merchant’s Mile.
If Stacked Pickle decides on a west-side location, it will be close to the Buffalo Wild Wings sports bar, a popular staple near where McAlister’s and Panda Express are being built.
Brackett said the goal of Stacked Pickle will be to partner with local people in the community, for its employees to know everyone in town and have a local flair. He said he expects and delivers on having servers that will set the restaurant apart.
“We train our staff appropriately to give great customer service,” Brackett said. “We pride ourselves on that.”
Although he describes Stacked Pickle as a new take on a modern sports bar, he says it’s really a sports-themed family restaurant and bar, with an emphasis on family.
Open for lunch, dinner and late night, there will also be karaoke, live bands, special sports viewing events and lots of Indiana- and Columbus-related sports memorabilia on the walls to celebrate the local community’s love of sports.
Its menu items, based on the chain’s 10 current locations from the Indianapolis area to college locations at IUPUI and Purdue, range in price from $10 to $12 entrees, burgers, salads and flatbread pizzas.
Brackett said his restaurants also have healthy menu options of pasta, salads and rice bowls; a turkey or veggie patty may be substituted for the restaurant’s stacked burgers.
The name of the restaurant, Stacked Pickle, comes from stacking the ingredients on the restaurant’s sandwiches high, and honoring the franchise’s “amazing fried flatbread pickles,” he said.
“They are all fresh, hand-dipped to order,” Brackett said.
In fact, all of the ingredients used for menu items are fresh, nothing frozen.
More than a dozen draft options, craft and domestic beers, and a variety of mixed drinks, wines and spirits also are offered.
Business minded
Brackett didn’t always plan on building a restaurant empire. After retiring from football in 2012, he went back to college to earn a master’s degree in business administration through George Washington University.
He now owns The Brackett Restaurant Group and Char Blue, a steak and seafood restaurant in downtown Indianapolis, along with other supporting restaurant brands.
Brackett told his life story in a 2011 book, “Winning: From Walk-on to Captain, in Football and Life,” which gave details about being a walk-on football player at Rutgers University who became a team captain, and receiving the team’s most valuable defensive player award.
From there, he was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and became a starter by 2005. He was in the starting lineup for the Colts’ 2007 Super Bowl XLI win over the Chicago Bears and also started for the Colts in the 2010 Super Bowl XLIV loss to the New Orleans Saints.
In 2009, Bracket received the Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award, presented to an NFL player “whose contributions to the community and charitable organizations are especially outstanding.” The award was presented for his work with IMPACT foundation, an organization he founded in 2007 to help underserved youth and families.
He has since expanded the foundation to include helping minority and low-income applicants become ready to compete for jobs.
Brackett continues to support the Colts, too. He’s part of the CBS 4 pre-game show in Indianapolis.
“I’m still cheering my boys in blue, big time,” he said.
When Stacked Pickle opens in Columbus, Brackett will be there — and continue to visit the restaurant, as he does with all his locations.
“Hoosier hospitality is a real thing,” the New Jersey native said. “I see it through the support I have received — how kind and how willing people are to help. That’s something that’s important to me and my family.”
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Age: 38
City of residence: Carmel
Education: Undergraduate at Rutgers University, master’s in business administration from George Washington University
Football career:
- Walk-on to the Rutgers University football team
- Signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent as a linebacker in 2003. Became a Colts starter in 2005 and started for the Colts in their Super Bowl XLI victory over the Chicago Bears. He also started for the Colts in their Super Bowl XLIV loss to the New Orleans Saints. He retired in 2012. Served as defensive captain of the Colts in 2006, a year he had 120 tackles.
Family: Married with three children
Author: Brackett wrote a book about his life, "Winning: From Walk-On to Captain, in Football and Life" in 2011.
More information: Visit garybrackett.com/.
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To learn more about the Stacked Pickle franchise, visit stackedpickle.com.
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