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Local man will be on new restaurant reality show

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By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 12:13 AM Monday, March 7, 2011

LIBERTY TWP. — The tension around Eric Powell on Sunday night was as thick as a grilled cheese sandwich.

Powell, 29, a 1999 graduate of Lakota East High School, is a contestant on the new NBC reality contest show America’s Next Great Restaurant. Powell competes against 20 other people to win financing for his chain of “grown up grilled cheese” restaurants called Meltworks.

Powell watched Sunday night’s premier episode at the home of his mother and stepfather, surrounded by more than 30 friends and family.

“Remember, this is reality TV,” Powell cautioned before the show. “The things they say about me may not be 100 percent positive.”

Powell and classmate Trevor Snowden first thought of Meltworks in 2006. They has been unable to find financing for the project and saw an opportunity in the show.

Powell is contractually bound not to disclose what happens during the show. He told only a few people about the audition.

“The secret is killing me,” he said.

The show shot for six weeks last May, Powell said.

“I got some texts from people who said they thought they saw me on a commercial and I told them, yeah they probably did,” he said. “I figured that was the point I could let people know I was going to be on a show.”

The first episode’s drama proved particularly cruel to those watching with Powell. He pitched his idea approximately 20 minutes into the one-hour show, but the judges withheld making a final decision on whether or not to move him forward until the last moments.

Powell and another competitor were pitted against each other in a last second cook-off. Powell proved the worth of his idea by cooking 29 grilled cheese sandwiches in 15 minutes.

When the four judges announced Powell had advanced to the next round, the whole household erupted in cheers that lasted for more than a minute.

“Thank God I made it through,” Powell said. “Otherwise, I would have felt pretty stupid sitting here.”

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