Black Bear Diner doesn't limit itself to one particular cuisine or style of cooking, electing to instead offer such an outstanding variety of menu items that there is sure to be something for everyone. With a genuine passion for cooking great food for kids cubs, they can accommodate even the pickiest of eaters!
The Black Bear Diner is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and whatever drinks or snacks you might need in between.
The Black Bear Diner was founded in 1995 with a desire to offer affordable home cooking and delicious comfort food. The franchise started as one single restaurant, owned by Bruce Dean and Bob Manley, planning to do little more than offer great food to friends and family in the local area (Mount Shasta, CA). But, as you have likely guessed, the idea of owning one establishment didn't last for long. Very soon people were driving, 50, 60, or even a hundred miles just to visit for some of their delicious steak and eggs. Now, 27 years later, they have over 143 restaurants operating under the Black Bear Diner banner.
You can find out more about the Black Bear Diner and even see what it takes to open up one of their franchises yourself by clicking here.
Where can I visit one of the Black Bear Diners?
While it may have started as one single restaurant on the west coast of the United States, it didn't stay that way long. Black Bear Diner now has over 143 locations spanning across the west coast and has even made inroads as far east as Missouri or Arkansas. Unfortunately, if you are living outside the continental United States, there are not any restaurants as yet and there do not seem to be any plans to expand overseas any time soon. As fast food chains go, Black Bear Diner is still relatively new to the game, and it takes time to create these inroads. It only took them 27 years to grow 143,000%. Who knows how many restaurants they'll have in another 20 years!
Here is a helpful map to help you find the closest Black Bear Diner location to you. Click Here.
What makes Black Bear Diner special?
What makes Black Bear Diner stand out from not only other diners, but other fast food chains as a whole? It has an unrivaled focus on freshness. Many places claim they prepare their food fresh, and that is usually true to an extent. Black Bear Diner, though, doesn't just kick it up a notch, it completely rewrites the game. Black Bear orders everything fresh from meat to potatoes and prepares all food items, manually, in-house. They shape their burgers, cut their fries, make their own sauces, condiments, rubs, spice blends, pickles, heck! They even make their own ice cream. What more could you ask for? What more could you want?
Since 2022, Black Bear has committed to only using free-range eggs by the year 2024, and they are already 50% of the way there.
Is the Black Bear Diner a family-friendly restaurant?
Yes! Absolutely! The Black Bear Diner has an excellent kid's menu known as the cub's menu. Cute, right? They have tons of low-calorie, child-sized portions covering everything from scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast to Papa Bear's Cheese Pizza for lunch or dinner. While there are certainly more than enough hearty and diverse food options on the cub's menu, that doesn't stop your little one from ordering off the grown-up's menu, and simply downsizing their order slightly. Your server is well-equipped to deal with any food requests or answer any questions you may have about menu items and their size, and even offer recommendations based on your or your child's needs.
There are plenty of vegetarian or even vegan menu items for you to choose from, ranging from steel-cut oats to full-blown veggie burgers. Just because you don't eat meat, or in some cases, any animal products at all, does not mean you can't fit right in at the Black Bear Diner. The menu is designed to be as inclusive as possible, offering plenty of veggie, vegan, gluten-free, and even dairy-free food items. You unfortunately won't be able to eat their homemade ice cream if you struggle with the latter.
Does the Black Bear Diner have all-day breakfast?
Part of what makes diners so great, and therefore so popular, is the all-day breakfast. There is no reason that bacon, hash browns, and eggs should be constrained to just the first half of the day. We aren't all on a typical schedule and let's face it, there is never a bad time to eat breakfast. Black Bear Diner does all-day breakfasts from when they open at 6 in the morning until they close at 10 at night. 7 days a week. There is never a bad time to feed your inner bear – and most bears want breakfast!
Does the Black Bear Diner serve alcohol?
Black Bear Diner may be a family restaurant, but that doesn't stop them from responsibly serving alcohol to its loyal patrons. Beer, wine, and a few other select alcoholic beverages are available throughout the day and make a lovely accompaniment to your hearty meal. While their alcohol menu is not available online, as it tends to vary from state to state and store to store, be sure that there are plenty of cold, crisp, beers to help you wash down your all-day breakfast in style. The Black Bear Diner creates many of its own delicious alcohol-free drinks in-house, like their pink lemonade, for example.