Liz Biro

Gary Brackett is wearing a new uniform.

This week, the former Colts linebacker looks like any other busy, T-shirt-clad staffer at his new Georgia Reese's restaurant.

Directing servers, checking orders and constantly scanning the dining room during Sunday brunch, just 48 hours before Georgia Reese's public opening Sept. 2, Brackett ignores back-bar televisions broadcasting college football.

What does he think of Nebraska wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp's gone-viral "butt-catch" in Saturday's game against Florida Atlantic?

"Never saw it," Brackett says.

These days, salmon croquettes, warm biscuits and Kentucky bourbon pecan pie trump grabs, sacks and tackles. Brackett, who recently earned a master's in business administration, is already a partner in two Indianapolis-based Stacked Pickle sports bars. With Georgia Reese's, the once Colts defensive captain officially labels himself "restaurateur."

"I'm inundating myself into the (restaurant business) process and not taking for granted that just because I have a brand name, I can just put my name on it, open it, and let it go," Brackett says.

"We're only as good as our last plate."

That last plate from Georgia Reese's comfort food/soul food lunch and dinner menu might be Smothered Rabbit, slow-roasted with sweet onions and wild mushrooms, or charbroiled top sirloin marinated in hot sauce. Dishes are inspired by family dinners Brackett grew up eating in his native Glassboro, N.J.

"My father, he cooked a lot when he was home. Sunday dinners were always fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, sweet potatoes. You know, regular Saturday mornings were biscuits and gravy, bacon," Brackett recalls.

"We hunted when we were kids, so we ate rabbit, we had turtle soup. So all this stuff is stuff I grew up with my father cooking."

A large black-and-white photo depicting the Brackett family at play hangs on the back dining room wall at Georgia Reese's, 3454 W. 86th St., at Pyramid Place Shoppes. As a teen, Brackett's first job was dishwasher at a N.J. restaurant. From there, football guided his life, but he never forgot those Sunday dinners and his restaurant experience.

"I was fascinated with how a kitchen operated," Brackett, 34, says.

As his football career wound down, Brackett considered how he might combine his two passions — food and real estate — into a job that would fit his family lifestyle. Brackett and his wife, Ragan, have three young kids: Gabrielle, Gary Jr. and Georgia Reese.

"When I look at a restaurant, I'm like, why can't you have good food, good music, good drinks? Why is it not possible to do that? And then, so many people are, like, 'because you have to pick,' and I'm, like, why do you have to pick?" Brackett says.

Low ceilings, vanilla walls and close-set tables at Georgia Reese's speak to home and family. A table for eight sits on an elevated floor section below huge letters spelling "EAT" between a giant fork and spoon.

On live music nights, that table stand becomes a stage. Mismatched chandeliers sparkle over a bar hosting 70-plus bourbons. Jazz, gospel, blues and R&B stream at a just-right volume for setting verve and letting conversation flow.

During this Sunday brunch, customers range from stylish ladies in dripping in pearls to grandkids begging for another slice of chocolate layer cake.

"I always thought, Indianapolis, this is something they were lacking, sort of upscale, casual fine dining," Brackett says.

"Cautiously optimistic" that Georgia Reese's will take off, Brackett is already thinking about a fast-casual off-shoot along the lines of Chipotle-style service.

"Eventually, I hope to have multiple restaurants," Brackett said. "This one I consider to be the flagship."

Call Liz Biro at (317) 444-6264. Follow her on Twitter: @lizbiro.