Bear's Smokehouse To Open New Location In Windsor

WINDSOR Sixteen months ago Jamie McDonald lucked into finding a home for his dream barbecue restaurant.

Now he's about to have two of his own.

Bear's Smokehouse BBQ got it's start under the roof of Bart's Drive-In last June thanks to a chance meeting over chil dogs the previous fall.

McDonald, a world-ranked professional competitive eater, known as "The Bear," was at the Palisado Avenue eatery on the banks of the Farmington River for a chili-dog eating contest and got to talking with Bart's owner, Windsor Mayor Donald Trinks.

The two got to talking and one thing led to another and McDonald, a Kansas City native, opened under Bart's roof, joining the Beanery, which had moved there in 2008.

Business took off and seven months later McDonald announced plans to open on Arch Street in Hartford. They opened this summer and had lines out the door ever since.

But McDonald also wanted to have his own place in Windsor, partly because having three popular restaurants under one roof wasn't ideal for any of them and partly because he wanted to stay in Windsor, where he got his start.

"We outgrew Bart's in two months. I knew we would do good but it's better than I ever could have hoped for," McDonald said. Now he's about two weeks away as work continues on a new, 5,500 square-foot venue in the former Dale Drug Store at 2152Poquonock Ave.

"Without Windsor's support we wouldn't have two places," he said, adding that without Trinks' invitation to open at Bart's "this wouldn't have happened."

"He gave me that opportunity."

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Bear's Smokehouse To Open New Location In Windsor