diff --git a/cookbooks/couchbase/recipes/setup-2.1.0.rb b/cookbooks/couchbase/recipes/setup-2.1.0.rb
index 8d03082c0..6cb8948d3 100644
--- a/cookbooks/couchbase/recipes/setup-2.1.0.rb
+++ b/cookbooks/couchbase/recipes/setup-2.1.0.rb
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@
               " --server-add=#{ip}" +
               " --server-add-username=#{username}" +
               " --server-add-password=#{password} 2>\&1"
-              cmd = "for i in {1..5}; do x=\`#{add}\`; if [[ -z "$x" ]]; then break; else sleep 30 && echo 'retrying...'$i; fi; done"
+              cmd = "for i in {1..5}; do x=\`#{add}\`; if [[ -z \"$x\" ]]; then break; else sleep 30 && echo 'retrying...'$i; fi; done"
               begin
                 log("clustering - server-add cmd: #{cmd}")
                 execute "clustering - server-add cmd: #{cmd}" do