Bear's Smokehouse BBQ Comes to New Haven @ The Stack (Biergarten & Brewery)

 Bear’s Restaurant Group, which includes Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ in Windsor, Hartford, and South Windsor, Blind Pig Pizza in Hartford and Chango Rosa in Hartford, today announced its first location on the Connecticut shoreline.  “The Stack,” featuring Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ, a brewery and Biergarten, will be opening over the coming weeks at District, the revitalized 9-acre technology and innovation campus at 470 James Street in New Haven, formerly the site of the CT Transit bus garage. 

“New Haven has been generating so much buzz for its vibrant food scene, so it was the obvious next step for the expansion of Bear’s Restaurant Group,” said Jamie “The Bear” McDonald, Co-Owner, Bear’s Restaurant Group.  “We will be bringing all of our barbeque favorite to this new location – pulled pork, brisket, ribs and “moink balls” – with a really unique twist – our own, in-house beer brewery and Biergarten.  We are working in collaboration with Jason Sobocinski, a veteran of the New Haven food scene with Ordinary and Caseus, who is providing not only his expertise of the food scene, but also his experience in brewing (Black Hog Brewing) when we open the brewery later this year.”

The food menu at The Stack will feature the brand’s celebrated barbeque favorites, smoked in the Kansas-City style that McDonald enjoyed growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, including Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Kielbasa, Turkey, Texas Sausage, Brisket and Burnt Ends served as a Sandwich, Entrée or Combo Plate.  Other favorites served with a choice of smoked meat include Paw Paw’s Poutine (hand-cut fries smothered with cheese), Bear Bowl (cornbread topped with BBQ beans) and Super Spud (baked potato topped with mac & cheese, sour cream, bacon, red onion and cheese), as well as appetizers (including Moink Balls, bacon-wrapped meatballs), salads, classic side dishes and desserts.  Family meals and meat by the pound will also be available, as well as a Cub Meal for younger barbeque fans.  The menu will also include items inspired by the Biergarten featuring local cheeses, sausages and breads.

The beverage program will complement the barbeque and Biergarten concepts, offering easy-to drink beers, BBQ-infused cocktails and wines on draft.  The bar will feature a combination of local and German Lagers, Pilsners and lighter Ales in cans and on draft, and when the Brewery opens later this year, will also offer five draft lines of house beers, in addition to selling the house-brews in cans.  Creative cocktails include the Smoke Stack Manhattan (Brisket Fat-Washed Old Forester Bourbon, Smoked Sweet Vermouth, Angostura Bitters, Smoked Maraschino Cherries), Bacon Maple Old-Fashioned (Bacon Fat-Washed Pinhook Rye Whiskey, Maple Syrup, Black Walnut and Angostura Bitters), Stack Fall Sangria (Cabernet Red Wine, Apple Brandy, Citrus Vodka, Allspice, Lemon, Bubbly) and All About Our Coco Stout (Old Forester Bourbon, Stillhouse Coconut Whiskey, Black Hog Coffee Milk Stout, Licor 43, Simple Syrup).

The 6,700 square feet restaurant will feature indoor seating for 200; the 6,000 square foot Biergarten, which will be partially covered and house fire pits and heaters to make it a year-round destination, will add an additional 250 seats.  

The Stack will be open seven days a week: Sunday-Wednesday (11am-9pm) and Thursday-Saturday (11am-10pm).  The restaurant also offers take-out, catering, food truck and on-site event options.

The District campus features ample free parking and ease of access from I-91, as well as the Mill River Trail.  In 2019, a kayak and paddleboard launch will also be opened for those seeking ease of access from the Mill River, and an Amphitheatre will open offering both family-friendly and adult programming, with views directly from the restaurant’s Biergarten seating.

For more information, visit www.bearsrg.com or call (203) 350-9060.

About The Stack: 

The Stack brings Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ to the District New Haven campus, located at 470 James Street.  The barbeque restaurant, brewery and Biergarten, opening in Fall 2018, features the award-winning cuisine of Jamie “The Bear” McDonald of Bear’s Restaurant Group.  Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, the location offers free parking and ease of access off the Mill River Trail, as well as a paddleboard/kayak launch.  For more information, visit www.bearsrg.com.  The Stack can also be found on Facebook (coming soon) and Instagram (@thestacknh).