The sibling owners of the Bobcat Café & Brewery located at 5 Main Street in Bristol have announced on social media that the restaurant is closed “until further notice due to a private medical matter.” Jon, 50, and Christopher Ruggiero, 46, bought the community mainstay in February 2025 from chef-owners Erin and Sanderson Wheeler, who had run the Bobcat for 16 years.
Jon declined to give more specifics but said via text to Seven Days, “We are exploring every option to keep the Bobcat part of this community. We don’t have a timeline or any decisions to announce, and we’re grateful for everyone’s patience and support while our family focuses on what matters most.”
The Bobcat opened in 2002 under the leadership of longtime local restaurateur Robert Fuller, who died earlier this year. When Fuller hatched the idea of launching a brewpub in Bristol, he gauged interest in the concept, and raised money at the same time, by soliciting community investments. He beat his goal almost threefold, securing $5,000 in startup loans from each of 32 supporters.
The Wheelers bought the Bobcat in 2008 in partnership with their mentor, the late Michel Mahe, before taking full ownership in 2015.
When the Ruggieros bought the restaurant 18 months ago for the asking price of $165,000, Jon said Christopher, who has a degree in hotel and restaurant management, would be the hands-on operator while he would take an administrative role. The brothers had no plans to change the casual, comfort-food approach that had worked in Bristol for more than two decades.
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