42 Grams in Chicago Closed Due to Domestic Abuse, Says Co-Owner - Eater Chicago

Chef Jake Bickelhaupt pled guilty to attacking co-owner Alexa Welsh before the restaurant’s closure

It’s been nearly a year since highly acclaimed Chicago restaurant 42 Grams suddenly and unexpectedly closed, leaving diners, the media, and industry insiders wondering what happened. According to co-owner Alexa Welsh and court documents obtained by Eater Chicago, the restaurant shuttered after she was attacked by her ex-husband, 42 Grams chef and co-owner Jake Bickelhaupt.

On June 4, 2017, according to the Cook County state attorney’s complaint, Bickelhaupt struck Welsh in the head with a bottle, causing lacerations that required two staples. The complaint states that when Bickelhaupt attacked Welsh, he grabbed Welsh ”by her hair” and then threw her to the ground and struck her in the head “with a bottle causing injury.” Police were called by a diner at the restaurant who saw Welsh shortly after the attack, which took place near the restaurant’s rear door, according to Welsh.

The following day, Bickelhaupt announced via Twitter that the restaurant was closing after more than three years in operation. According to Welsh, Bickelhaupt made the announcement without consulting her — she was still in the emergency room recovering from injuries sustained in the attack. In the confusion, she made her own statement later that day on the restaurant’s website and Facebook page, echoing Bickelhaupt’s announcement without diving into the reasons behind the closure. Her main goal, at the time, was to ensure people knew that the restaurant wasn’t closing due to financial reasons.

Chicago police arrested Bickelhaupt at his apartment on June 6. He was charged with domestic battery; it was later downgraded to simple battery. In July, Bickelhaupt pled guilty and a judge granted him release with stipulations, including mandatory drug and alcohol testing, and the completion of a domestic violence program and fines, according to court records. A restraining order currently bars Bickelhaupt from any contact with Welsh until July 23, 2018, one year from his conviction date. A portion of the criminal complaint filed against Bickelhaupt, along with documentation of his sentencing, is below.

For months after 42 Grams closed, while Welsh’s social media presence made oblique references to her experience as a survivor of domestic violence, the two went about business as usual, if separately. A documentary about the restaurant that premiered earlier this year made no reference to Bickelhaupt’s arrest or conviction — only allusions to his temper, which it framed within the narrative of his perfectionism and his dreams of a Michelin star.

Welsh says that she is choosing to speak about the attack now because she hopes to bring more awareness to the issue of domestic violence. “I don’t see myself as a victim,” Welsh said. “I don’t feel like a victim. I was victimized but I see myself as a survivor.”

Welsh especially credits the support from Between Friends, a Chicago organization that provides court advocacy and counseling services to local victims of domestic violence, as crucial to her recovery. Welsh said that she wishes she knew about resources like Between Friends immediately after filing charges — the organization provides information about things like orders of protection and access to support groups — and wants to ensure that more victims know they have places to go for help. “I didn’t get into my first therapy session until late August or early September — we’re talking three months after the fact,” Welsh said.

After counseling, Welsh started to interact with other domestic violence victims, sharing experiences and coping mechanisms. With that support, Welsh felt more confident in making public statements. Two months ago, using the 42 Grams account, Welsh made her first direct public statement about domestic abuse. “The business did not kill the marriage,” Welsh wrote in reply to a fan’s Facebook post about the pair’s divorce. “Domestic abuse killed the marriage. I decided my life was more important than waiting for someone to change.” The pair had filed for divorce in November 2016 and it was finalized in January 2017, months before the attack that led to Bickelhaupt’s arrest; Welsh and Bickelhaupt had originally hoped to sustain the restaurant until the lease expires in November of this year.

Following Bickelhaupt’s conviction, Welsh was left with the sole responsibility of cleaning out the restaurant, informing diners of the closure, and ensuring vendors were paid for outstanding invoices. “Jake and I built this restaurant together, but physically I took it apart by myself,” Welsh said. Between $40,000 and $50,000 worth of reservations had to be refunded to diners. The restaurant requiring customers to pay in advance, and the range reflected future reservations over a period of three months.

Court records also show that Welsh filed a lawsuit against Bickelhaupt after the restaurant closed. He allegedly withdrew $2,200 from the 42 Grams restaurant account to pay off personal expenses without Welsh’s consent. Welsh said that Bickelhaupt was paying personal credit card bills with restaurant money she needed to pay out refunds, and that she needed to prevent further withdrawals before the account was depleted. “In essence, I had to protect the business from him,” Welsh said.

The matter was resolved with an out-of-court settlement, according to Welsh. The settlement included a non-disparage agreement, which prevents Welsh and Bickelhaupt from publicly saying negative things about one other.

In his statement to Eater Chicago about his arrest and conviction, Bickelhaupt wrote: “I was arrested for a single instance of violence. I will be forever regretful for my actions and the harm I caused. I take full responsibilities for my actions and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. There was no excuse for my actions. I have taken steps and found the help I needed to ensure nothing of this sort will ever happen again and I know I am a better person today than I was on that day.”

Bickelhaupt’s written response also mentioned the lawsuit: “There was an accusation of money being stolen which was actually an oversight on my part that when brought to my attention was remedied immediately by paying the money in full with additional funds given on my own accord.”

Since September, Bickelhaupt has been holding a series of“two-Michelin-starred” underground dinner series, called Konro, as a throwback to the one he and Welsh ran before 42 Grams opened in 2014. “It is my goal to continue my life and move forward with my head held high,” Bickelhaupt’s statement continued. “I want to continue in the next chapter... by following my true passion as a chef.”

Welsh is currently in California on what started as a restaurant consulting job. It’s grown to owning and operating a taco restaurant on Laguna Beach. She’s not ready to share details, but is excited about spending time on the sunnier west coast, escaping Chicago’s dreary weather. In August, she’ll be speaking about abuse and substance addiction at the PX+ Hospitality Festival outside of London. “Maybe my path or my calling — whatever you want to call it — is to make other people’s dreams come true,” Welsh said.

Here are the documents obtained at Cook County circuit court:

Eater Chicago

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