Why is The Bear called The Bear? 

The Bear series focuses on the life of talented head chef Carmy as he works to make his dream of opening a restaurant with the same. But why is the restaurant named The Bear?

Jeremy Allen White has returned once again in The Bear Season 3 as the perpetually stressed out and brash chef Carmy.

After two seasons of build up, Carmy is now in the top hot spot as his new fine-dining restaurant — also named The Bear — is now open for business.

While the restaurant’s name has been known since the very beginning of The Bear, some have wondered how Carmy came up with it. So, here’s everything we know about The Bear’s backstory.

Why is The Bear called The Bear?

The Bear restaurant is called The Bear because it’s a play on Carmy’s family name.

Carmy’s last name is Berzatto which is pronounced ‘bear-zatto.’ Because of this, some of his family and friends use the term bear as a nickname for different Berzattos.

Mikey, Carmy’s old brother, was called Mikey Bear while their sister, Natalie, whose other nickname is Sugar, was sometimes called Sugar Bear.

However, it’s Carmy himself who is constantly called Bear, so it’s not surprising that he would want to use a special name for his dream restaurant.

The name actually has a double familial connection as Carmy was supposed to open The Bear with Mikey.

Before he went off to New York to become a Michelin Star-awarded chef, Carmy had planned to stay in Chicago and open The Bear with Mikey, who already owned The Original Beef of Chicagoland sandwich shop.

In Season 2’s iconic and haunting Christmas episode, Carmy gifted Mikey framed plans of the restaurant and the front door that featured a picture of a bear.

Despite the Berzattos having complicated relationships with one another, Carmy loved his older brother a lot and wanted to fulfill this dream with him.

However, Mikey continued to push Carmy away from working with him at The Original Beef, which then prompted Carmy to go off to New York to become a trained chef.

Mikey’s aversion to having his little brother around stemmed from his desire to not drag Carmy’s talent down due to his addiction, but Carmy didn’t realize this until it was too late.

After Mikey’s death, Carmy returned to Chicago to take over The Original Beef. He also decided to make their dream a reality by opening The Bear with the existing staff.

For more, check out our guides to The Bear Season 3 soundtrack and The Bear Season 3 guest stars. Don’t forget to check out our The Bear Season 3 recaps and ending explained.