A California-based restaurant chain is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth, with that most valuable commodity, breakfast all day: Black Bear Diner, which serves classic, home-style comfort food, is executing a Texas expansion for 2022 that includes a location in Mesquite, at 3730 Towne Crossing Blvd.
According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open in mid-2022.
Black Bear Diner was founded in 1995 by Bruce Dean and Bob Manley in Mt. Shasta, California. They bring home-style comfort food classics and personal service to the dining experience. The quickly growing family dining concept, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, offers a vast, enticing menu anchored in hearty portions and excellent value, with service rooted in genuine hospitality.
Their motto says it all: breakfast served all day, lunch that's quick and satisfying, and dinner with comfort food classics. They also have a cute little bear theme such as black bear insignias on the coffee cups.
The menu is a deliciously sprawling document. Breakfast includes pancakes, French toast, omelets, scrambles, biscuits & gravy, and benedicts. Among the notable items:
- bear claws, to go with the bear theme
- French toast made with cinnamon rolls
- chorizo breakfast burrito
- breakfast sliders with choice of hot Italian or mild Italian sausage
There's steak & eggs and also CFS & eggs, featuring a 10-ounce steak breaded & fried golden brown, with country gravy, three eggs, & two biscuits.
Lunch has classic sandwiches such as a tri-tip dip, stacked on a ciabatta hero, served with au jus; and a Reuben, with Swiss on grilled rye. There's chili made with ground beef, mild Italian sausage, and beans, yes that's right, with beans; and four bountiful entree salads.
A slew of burgers includes bacon cheddar, chili cheddar, avocado & jack cheese, and a Parmesan sourdough burger with Dijon mustard, Swiss cheese, tomato, and grilled onion on thick-cut sourdough bread grilled golden with a garlic Parmesan cheese crust.
Dinner is very home-cooking with meatloaf, pot roast, roasted turkey, chicken-fried steak, fried chicken, fish & chips, chicken pot pie, and open-faced hot turkey sandwich on white bread with turkey gravy, red-skinned potatoes, and cranberry sauce.
Desserts include cream pies, cobbler, 5-layer chocolate cake, cheesecake, bread pudding, brownie sundae, and banana split.
It all sounds very Highland Park Cafeteria-ish.
Black Bear Diner currently has nine locations in Texas, most located in the suburbs of Houston; the most recent opened in October 2021 in Brownsville.
In addition to the Mesquite location, they're also opening restaurants at the following addresses by October 2022:
- San Antonio: 2707 Southeast Military Dr
- Pasadena: 3497 East Sam Houston Parkway South
- McAllen: 602 W Expressway 83
- Fort Worth: 9501 N Fwy.
- Harker Heights: 401 W Central Texas Expressway
The new diners are a combination of conversions and ground-ups and will incorporate recent design changes to better accommodate off-premise dining. Once all six locations are open, Texas will have the most Black Bear Diner locations outside of California. Yay us.
In a statement, CEO Anita Adams says that expanding their footprint in the Lone Star State is a key part of their long-term plan to continue to push eastward.
"We are pleased to introduce Black Bear Diner to new communities this year, and we look forward to serving up our delicious food and family-style dining experience to more guests," Adams says. "Our founders built Black Bear Diner as a unique space where people can gather and enjoy a delicious meal together in a relaxing and fun environment. That sense of community and connection remains a core part of who we are today and extends to our fantastic franchise owners and development partners."
