After announcing in the Summer House Season 8 reunion about plans to open “a cafe and bar that only serves non-alcoholic drinks,” Carl Radke has officially made it happen with Soft Bar + Cafe.
However, fans quickly started to speculate and comment that he had deviously come up with the name of his new enterprise with one ex-fiancée very much in mind. Once Radke introduced the bar on Instagram Monday, fans began to accuse him of mocking Lindsay Hubbard—his ex-fiancée—whom he asked to act “softer” toward him before their split last year.
“Asking Lindsay to be softer to him and opening up a bar named Soft. Diabolical honestly,” one fan reacted on X.
Several fans shared similar sentiments on TikTok, with one writing, “The bar is a good idea but he’s a d**kwad for calling it Soft.”
Another person added, “Soft was her trigger word 😳.”
In his defense, the 39-year-old said that the rumors are not true because his inspiration for the moniker came from his European travels. In a statement to Page Six on Tuesday, the reality star said that in Europe he came across several bars that called non-alcoholic drinks “soft cocktails” or “softs.”
“While ‘Soft drinks’ is a term used in the US, it has a different connotation, typically representing soda,” he said.
“I wanted to define a new—and much needed—category and space, having ‘soft drinks’ or ‘softs’ be seen as functional and high-quality non-alcoholic beverages for adults.”
The Bravolebrity continued, “I was sharing this thought during a conversation with my co-founder as we discussed raising the bar in the non-alcoholic space, ultimately leading us to the name ‘Soft Bar.’”
Hubbard, who is now expecting her first child with boyfriend Turner Kufe, previously shot down Radke’s idea of a sober bar in Season 8 of Summer House.
“Sorry, I’m gonna have to say no to that one,” the 37-year-old told her then-fiancé at the time.
“Working in the hospitality industry my entire life, representing every single lounge, bar, club, hotel, restaurant … I don’t want that for our future family.”
In June, Radke confirmed he was moving forward with his idea during the Season 8 reunion. “It feels like my calling,” he explained. “It’s finally looking at me, and I want to go pursue that.”
