Former Colt Brackett ups stakes as restaurateur

Gary Brackett is now the sole owner of the local Stacked Pickle restaurant chain.

The former Indianapolis Colts linebacker became an investor in the chain a few years ago and bought out the remaining shares of founder Chris Long effective Oct. 31, Brackett told IBJ.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Brackett’s move ups his stake as a restaurateur. In September, he opened Georgia Reese's Southern Table and Bar in College Park on the northwest side. The restaurant at 3454 W. 86th St. (formerly an Outback Steakhouse) serves authentic Southern, soulful cuisine.

“I just look at it as a huge opportunity,” Brackett said of the Stacked Pickle. “It’s something that I’m excited about in terms of being that neighborhood sports-family restaurant.”

Stacked Pickle has two locations in both Indianapolis and Carmel and one each in Fishers and Greenwood, according to the company’s website.

Brackett plans to open another on the city’s south side, at East Southport Road and McFarland Boulevard, sometime next summer. The restaurant, which would be the chain’s first stand-alone location, has been in the works for months.

Brackett also is eyeing Avon, Westfield and West Lafayette, he said.

Brackett, 34, was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent from Rutgers University in 2003 and played nine seasons for the team.

He earned his MBA from George Washington University in June and founded Brackett Restaurant Group to oversee his restaurant holdings. Jeff Smith, a former partner of Harry & Izzy’s, came aboard as president and partner of Brackett’s company last month.