Chris Bruno is a noted a chef and restaurateur in the Connecticut area, most notably as the chef and owner of Chris’s American Restaurant in Brookfield, Connecticut. Mr. Bruno purchased the restaurant in 1990, back when it was called Fiddler’s Restaurant, at the impressively young age of 24. In 2003, Mr. Bruno changed the menu and theme and therefore changed the name as well, from Fiddler’s Restaurant to Chris’s American Restaurant. With a more contemporary design both inside and out, the restaurant went on to become the highest-grossing restaurant of its size in all of Connecticut.
Chef Bruno worked hands-on in the kitchen and was in charge of all operations at the Brookfield restaurant until he sold it in 2009. During the nearly two decades that Chef Bruno was owner of Fiddler’s Restaurant and Chris’s American Restaurant, he took an old Irish Pub in Brookfield, Connecticut, and transformed it into a modern and successful new restaurant.
Mr. Bruno served one term in the Connecticut Restaurant Association, during which time he advocated for and oversaw the banning of smoking in all bars and restaurants in Connecticut. While the ban was initially small in scope, Chef Bruno took a hard stand for statewide enforcement of the ban rather than town-by-town opt-ins. His convincing argument is still protecting diners and customers to this day.
From 1999 to 2006, Chef Bruno was also on the board of Family and Children’s Aid, a non-profit organization.