July 19, 2021

Botak Jones: A Journey of Ups and Downs

Blog by objadmin

Mr Bernard Allen Utchenik shares why he’s keeping his entrepreneurial dream alive.

Published: Mon, 19 Jul 2021 – 4:30 PM

Mr Utchenik met his wife, Faudziah ‘Zee’ Mohd Ali, at the first restaurant he worked for and fell in love with her. Photo Credit: The Original Botak Jones

Mr Bernard Allen Utchenik, better known as Bernie or Botak, is almost 70. The founder of the well-liked Botak Jones brand survived a heart attack in 2017, and had to close his Big Bern’s American Grill outlets due to the impact from Covid-19.

Still, the spirited man, who hasn’t consumed red meat for about 40 years, is bent on bringing back The Original Botak Jones to continue serving his iconic American comfort food with the help of his wife, Faudziah ‘Zee’ Mohd Ali.

“My wife takes care of all the running,” said Mr Utchenik, who gets around on a four-wheeled scooter now.

“I did go into the kitchen a couple times, briefly, to demonstrate some of the things that weren’t easy to explain on paper,” he told The UrbanWire over Zoom. “I’m still doing a lot of the marketing, a lot of the posts on Facebook are coming from me.”

When his new outlet at 118 Depot Lane opened on 14 June, it drew a long que