Carl Radke is opening his much-anticipated new business venture, Soft Bar + Café, very soon, and as it turns out, his Summer House castmate Kyle Cooke is involved.
"I'm an advisor to the business," the Loverboy CEO shared with The Daily Dish during a recent conversation at Bravo HQ, noting that his company's non-alcoholic products will find the "perfect home" at Carl's new establishment opening "soon" in Brooklyn, New York.
"I think down the road, some activations [and] some [collaborations] are certainly in the works," Kyle added of him and Carl expanding in business together. "He's been so supportive of me and us and Loverboy that we want to kind of reciprocate. [I'm] just excited for him to get the doors open."
Carl Radke's involvement with Loverboy
As Summer House fans may recall, Carl announced in November 2023 he was returning to Loverboy in a part-time role after leaving the business earlier that year.
On Season 8, Episode 14, which aired in May 2024, Kyle and Carl discussed Carl coming back to the company to collaborate on the new non-alcoholic products.
"I wanted to give you something to at least mull over," Kyle said. "A small monthly stipend, like a retainer, so you have recurring revenue, three grand a month. It's not a big lift. You're literally working with us about the marketing direction. Any event you come to is two grand, we'll pay your way, and then, yeah, 10 percent of sales. That's merch, that's non-alc. Just to get you kind of back in the swing of things like posting, but I want you to be able to track your impact."
Carl, who seemed pleased with the offer, told Kyle, "This falls in line with a lot of what I've been thinking."
In an interview with The Daily Dish in May 2024, Carl revealed how he was working with Loverboy at that time.
"My signature in my email is I'm the Loverboy advisor," he shared at NBCUniversal's Upfront presentation. "Basically, what I'm focused on is business development and bringing our non-alcoholic product to market."
He continued: "I'm working part-time, but only focused really on some of the things that I'm really good at, which is building relationships, marketing, and events, and really getting the non-alcoholic product into more stores because right now it's only on our website. The main goal is getting it to more stores like Whole Foods, Total Wine, you know, big grocery stores, or even some of the smaller places around New York City."
Carl Radke explains why he wanted to open a non-alcoholic bar
Summer House viewers first learned of Carl's ambitions during Season 8, when he told his then-fiancé, Lindsay Hubbard, about creating a space that didn’t serve alcohol.
“I’m proud to be a voice for things that I’ve been through and hopefully help other people,” he said about his sobriety journey. “So I’ve been thinking about a sports bar, non-alcoholic. A sober sports bar.”
Fast-forward to the summer of 2024, and Carl officially announced he was opening Soft Bar + Café in Brooklyn. Since then, the entrepreneur has been busy giving updates to fans and sharing glimpses of the in-construction space.
During an August 2024 interview with People magazine, Carl explained his mission for the company.
“It’s been a journey, for sure. But I feel like this is my calling,” he shared. “I’ve just had this drive inside of me that’s said, ‘You’ve got to go for this.’ What I want to do, to my knowledge, doesn’t exist yet. And it’s amazing to be in a position where I can introduce a new concept and help redefine the non-alcoholic industry in a way. I’m really proud of what we’re creating and what I hope will help a lot of people feel like they have a place to go for the first time.”
Inside Soft Bar + Café
Though the space isn't officially open yet, Carl has provided fans with glimpses inside the new bar.
Earlier in January, Carl shared behind-the-scenes photos to his Instagram Stories, showing the construction and aesthetic progress.
Carl also shared a photo of the bar’s overhead door and a shot of a staircase, giving fans views of the bar's interior and exterior.
Carl has since shared that he will open the new venture in June 2025.
Read more about Carl's new business here.
— reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
