Black Bear Diner

Top 500 Chains

Black Bear Diner

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Operations

Black Bear aims for more dinner traffic with nightly changeover

A new nighttime-only menu is offered, the lights are dimmed, servers change their uniforms and a special music list is played.

The new executives, both promoted from within, will aid in the family chain’s expansion, headquarters said.

Operators are tapping seasonal ingredients and holiday flavors to create new dishes.

Back in 1995, near the ski slopes of Mount Shasta, Bruce Dean and Bob Manley scraped up $30,000 to open a restaurant. Adding in some credit from landlord and vendors, they remodeled a defunct eatery into the Black Bear Diner, a family restaurant with an outdoorsy atmosphere. Recalls Dean, “It was the only thing we could afford.”

The top and fastest-growing chains don’t always align with average total menu items in their sectors.

The chain strives to have a mom-and-pop feel

Apples and cream partner up in a homespun dessert for a diner concept.

While some of the legacy brands (such as IHOP and Bob Evans) saw declines, Technomic Chief Insights Officer Darren Tristano expects breakfast-and-lunch concepts to keep growing.

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