Chicago restaurants play starring role in 'The Bear' as series returns for season 3

CHICAGO -- Season three of the highly-acclaimed Chicago-based series "The Bear" drops Wednesday on Hulu.

There are 10 episodes in the third season of the Emmy award-winning series, and, once again, real-life Chicago restaurants are heavily featured in the show.

ABC7's Val Warner took a deeper look at some of the local spots featured in "The Bear's" first two seasons.

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Chicago restaurants are front and center in the first two seasons of "The Bear," with 26 local spots featured in the FX show.

From Roeser's Bakery to Pequod's Pizza to the Michelin-starred Ever restaurant, the city's best eateries have key moments in the program.

Roeser's, located at 3216 W. North Ave., is Chicago's oldest family-owned bakery, and it was featured in a memorable episode in season one where "The Beef" employee Marcus visits the bakery and dreams of becoming a pastry chef.

"I was contacted probably about a month before they were going to shoot," Roeser's Bakery owner John Roeser said. "They got here at 4 a.m., didn't disrupt business at all. They had a bunch of special donuts they wanted me to make to put out and in the window there... I have seen an increase in business. Not so much anymore, maybe. But at first, when the episode came out."

One of "The Bear's" most celebrated episodes was "Forks" in season two. In that episode, "The Bear" manager "Richie" is sent to work at a three-star Michelin restaurant modeled after a critically-acclaimed Fulton Market eatery, "Ever," located at 1340 W. Fulton St.

Ever's co-owner and chef, Curtis Duffy, was a key advisor for the episode.

"We were featured. The food, of course, was Ever's, the plating," Duffy said. "All of that was done by myself and the team. They got those scenes from us, from emulating us, because the amount of detail that we put in everything every single day from the moment we get here to the moment we leave is... very much true to what that storyline is. It's really about the details because all those details add up to the big picture of things that what we do at the restaurant every day."

Pequod's Pizza, located at 2207 W. Clybourn Ave., also makes an appearance in "Forks." Their famous deep dish pizza is recreated as a fine dining item at the Michelin-starred restaurant.

"It was fine dining Pequod. I mean, that's great," Pequod's general manager Sean Asbra said. "That aired, people got to see it and they just... everybody wanted to try it. But as more people started to travel for spring break and stuff, we noticed... 'Oh, I came here because of 'The Bear.''"

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Management for all three eateries said "The Bear's" scenes in the kitchen are accurate, even if sometimes over the top.

"Okay, maybe it doesn't represent who we are every single day, with the intensity and the craziness that goes on behind the scenes, because not every kitchen operates like this, but they do hit the mark and it is across the board," Duffy said. "I've been in kitchens like that. I choose to operate completely differently, but in terms of how they get the entire picture of our industry, absolutely. And they do an incredible job of showcasing Chicago as well. You watch that and you live in the city, it makes you proud to be here."

The third season of "The Bear" begins streaming on Hulu at 8 p.m. CST Wednesday.

ABC7 will have a special "Windy City Weekend" episode devoted to "The Bear". It airs at 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

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