Ex-star John Paul Merritt faces harsh reality
ENTREPRENEUR LOSES UPSCALE RESTAURANT AFTER TV APPEARANCE

BY Steve Lackmeyer

Published: November 22, 2008

Long before he was a reality television star on "The Bachelorette,” John Paul Merritt was winning over potential business partners as he pursued the life of an entrepreneur.

At the age of 20, the former Bishop McGuinness High School basketball star was buying and renovating rental homes in Norman’s older neighborhoods.

He was 26 when he approached members of the Deep Fork restaurant group about opening a restaurant along Western Avenue in Oklahoma City.

He was young, attractive and ambitious, and Merritt was telling an admiring public that he was the epitome of a budding entrepreneur.

But Merritt since has lost everything — a rise and fall that shows that life as an entrepreneur isn’t without risk.

Merritt’s life as an entrepreneur is over — for now. He insists he has no regrets and is trying to pay back his debts.

"I took risks,” Merritt said. "I can live with taking risks. Sometimes they work out, sometimes they don’t. It doesn’t mean I’m done.”

Current and former partners in Merritt’s Cafe Nova restaurant declined to discuss why the partnership ended. However another former partner, Ryan Parrott, recalled that Merritt made a good impression in 2004.

Perfect timing

The timing was right; Merritt’s idea for an upscale eatery fit in with the strip’s evolution as an entertainment corridor serving nearby Chesapeake Energy and surrounding historic neighborhoods. Deep Fork, meanwhile, was looking at expanding its operations.

Work was well under way when Merritt appeared on five episodes of the hit show "The Bachelorette” in early 2005.

The upscale Cafe Nova opened soon after — an eatery decked out with stainless steel, black tablecloths, silver drop lamps, glass panels and paintings by local artists.

Parrott said Merritt frequented the restaurant when it first opened — and his reality show experience did help with early buzz.

"It seemed as if it would be one more great way to market the restaurant, even if it ended up being just 15 minutes of fame,” Parrott said.

But the celebrity wasn’t enough to save Merritt from losing control of the property to Shannon Self, a longtime attorney for Chesapeake Energy.

Self took over a $1 million note originally issued by an Arkansas bank for Cafe Nova. Self said his investment had little to do with Merritt.

The property now belongs to Self; Merritt lost control when a court ruled he was in default earlier this year.

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