The eighth episode of “Summer House” season 9 saw Carl Radke officially launch his Soft Bar brand. His garden party in New Jersey was a big moment for the Bravo star. Not only did he put a lot of work into his new business venture, but he also invested a considerable sum of money.
The Details of ‘Summer House’ Star Carl Radke’s New Business
According to Bravo, Radke’s launch party debuted the Soft Bar sprinter van, which serves non-alcoholic drinks and beverages. Radke is four years sober, so his focus in this new business venture is on serving up “uplifting” mocktails like the “High Road,” which was served at the party.
“I’ve done a lot of research in the city. There are a lot of sugary, overpriced mocktails, but what we are creating here are called ‘soft cocktails.’ These are premium, they are sophisticated, and elevated,” he explained. “Because we use high-quality ingredients [and] because our head bartender is an expert in his field — he’s an artist, he’s a craftsman — you pay for the quality and the bespoke nature of these products.”
Radke describes Soft Bar as a “mindful consumption bar and cafe,” but he understands that there are “no guarantees with this.”
“I would rather fall flat on my face going towards something that I truly believe in and that i’m passionate about than not,” Radke explained.
In addition to the sprinter van, Radke plans to open a Soft Bar brick-and-mortar location later this year in the Greenpoint neighborhood of north Brooklyn.
Carl Radke Invested Six Figures Into Soft Bar
In the “Summer House” episode featuring his Soft Bar launch, Radke revealed that he had invested a ton of time and money into the business.
“I put a lot of work into this,” he said in his confessional. “I put over $100,000 of my own money in.”
His original idea was to open a non-alcoholic sports bar, which he discussed with his then-fiancée Lindsay Hubbard in season 8. But she encouraged him to do something different, and reconsider that premise. This is when he pivoted to his “mindful consumption bar and cafe,” calling Hubbard’s advice “good feedback.”
“I appreciated her reaction in that moment because I didn’t have a great idea. Starting a sober sports bar probably isn’t a great idea right now,” Radke said. “But a bar and a cafe that serves coffee, functional drinks, has an experience — that’s a better idea… But I didn’t immediately have that. Her reaction actually led me to where I’m at now.”
Why Did the ‘Summer House’ Star Call His Business Soft Bar?
When it comes to the name of his new business, “Summer House” fans had a theory. They thought it was a reference to him asking Hubbard for more “softness” in their relationship before their split. But, he says that’s not the case. Radke had a specific goal — he wanted to “make a name.”
“Like, you can blow your nose with another product, tissue paper, but everybody calls it Kleenex. I love the ubiquity of the name. Soft Bar, to me, has that. It’s a place where you go drink amazing non-alc drinks,” Radke revealed. “Nothing to do with my relationship — trust me.”
His inspiration for the “soft” name came from the “softs” label that non-alcoholic drinks had during his trip to Europe with Kyle Cooke.
“So if people think that I named my (expletive) company after Lindsay, and you hear all of that, then you are the crazy one,” he concluded.
“Summer House” airs Wednesday nights on Bravo.
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