The show has also sparked an immediate demand for the delectably sloppy Italian beef sandwiches in the midst of the plot chaos. Search interest on Google has nearly doubled after the show aired on Hulu on June 23, according to Google Trends, and Chicago-style restaurants across the country are feeling the effects personally.
Mike Klaersch, the owner of the Pizza Man, a mom-and-pop restaurant in Chicago outside of Kansas City, Kansas, saw customers pouring in for the sandwiches. The restaurant, he said, sold five to six times as many as in June.
Jarret Kerr, an owner of Dog Day Afternoon, an Italian beef and hot dog restaurant in Chicago in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, said he had seen an increase of at least 50 percent in orders of hot Italian beef sandwiches — at $15, the most expensive item on the planet. the menu – since the show debuted. The cramped shop used to sell a dozen a day; staff now swing 30 or more a day and sell out daily.
“It’s been a godsend,” Mr. Kerr said. “Now every day we say, well, thank you to ‘The Bear,’ thank you to ‘The Bear.'”
The store gained name recognition on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” last month when Mr. Meyers and the actor Mr. White, who stars as Carmy in the series, nibbled on his Italian beef sandwich. (A “Late Night” intern grabbed the last two sandwiches before the store sold out for the day, Mr. Kerr said.)
Goldbelly, an e-commerce company that supplies specialties like lobster rolls and gumbo to restaurants across the country, has seen sales of Italian beef sandwiches rise 30 percent since the premiere of “The Bear,” a company spokeswoman said. (That number could rise quickly with the recent addition of Chicago-based Al’s Beef to the site.)
According to Chicagoans, a true Italian beef relies on a consistent, harmonious formula of roast beef and hot giardiniera, all atop—importantly—a Turano Baking Company French bun. Roasted peppers, for a touch of sweetness, are optional. The sandwich is then “dipped, dipped, or dipped” in beef juice according to gravy preference, said Henry Tibensky, a native Chicagoan and the founder and executive chef of Hank’s Juicy Beef, a roaming Chicago hot dog and sandwich pop-up in New York City.
Amjad Haj, owner of two Al’s Beef locations in Chicago, hasn’t seen sales increase, but his customers are talking about the show. “One thing I’ve heard a few times, though, is that they don’t like the accent,” Mr. Haj said. (The employees at three other Chicago area restaurants we contacted had never heard of “The Bear” at all.)
Even the recent heat wave that hit much of the country failed to slow demand. Orders for Italian beef sandwiches have doubled in the past two weeks at Emmett’s, a Chicago-style restaurant in Manhattan, said owner Emmett Burke.
at mr. Chicago’s Beef On Orleans, where outdoor scenes for “The Bear” were filmed, are thriving. Joseph Zucchero, an owner who opened the store in 1979, said he was going to sell from 250 to 300 Italian cattle per day before “Bear” to 800 per day in early July.
“The week after it aired, we suddenly ran out of bread,” said Mr. Zucchero. On some days, he keeps the store open three to four hours after closing to accommodate the line of customers.
As for the show? “I haven’t seen it yet,” he said as a telephone began to ring in the background. “I’m too busy. I’m waiting for all the hassle to calm down.”