diff --git a/bigtable/tests/system.py b/bigtable/tests/system.py
index f236138441f1..3c5bffcfa337 100644
--- a/bigtable/tests/system.py
+++ b/bigtable/tests/system.py
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ def process_scan(table, range, ids):
             stderr=subprocess.PIPE,
         )
 
-        (endpoint, port) = server.stdout.readline().rstrip("\n").split(":")
+        (endpoint, port) = server.stdout.readline().encode("utf-8").rstrip("\n").split(":")
         os.environ["BIGTABLE_EMULATOR_HOST"] = endpoint + ":" + port
         client = Client(project="client", admin=True)
         instance = Instance("instance", client)