Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ was founded in 2013 by co-owners Cheryl Antoncic and Jamie “The Bear” McDonald. The original location operated out of a small counter rented inside Bart’s Hot Dogs in Windsor, CT. Jamie is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and the two dreamed of opening a restaurant to fill a void they both found in Cheryl’s home state of Connecticut for good BBQ. Cheryl is a native of Windsor Locks where her parents still reside.

By 2014, Bear’s had outgrown the counter at Bart’s and opened a downtown location in Hartford and shortly thereafter relocated the Bart’s operation to its current Windsor location near Bradley International Airport. Since that time Bear’s has added locations in South Windsor and New Haven, and in 2020 began expansion into Asheville, North Carolina where it quickly grew to 3 locations. Both Connecticut and North Carolina operations offer full service catering and food truck services, and in CT Bear’s can be seen operating concession stands at many local stadiums including XL Center, Gampel Pavilion, Rentschler Field, Yardgoats Stadium and most recently Westville Music Bowl. Bear’s is proud to be the “Official BBQ of the UConn Huskies”.