Black Bear Diner

After a long, hot day we opted to eat out.  The reputation and experience of prior visits to the Black Bear Diner drew us in.  As usual we were not disappointed!  The history of the diner was printed on their paper place mat.  Here is what we learned:

In northern California in 1861 there was a gold prospector who fell in love with a mountain meadow at the foot of Mt. Shasta in Strawberry Valley called Sisson.   This enamored prospector picked a spot overlooking wild berry patches frequented by black bears where he opened an inn.  His fabulous hospitality made the inn become a well-known stopover in an area known today as the town called Mt. Shasta City.   Tired travelers were treated to large portions of food in a friendly atmosphere-a standard that people came to expect on their visit.

 In 1995 the first Black Bear Diner was opened on the same site as the valley’s bygone strawberry patches.  The early tradition of Strawberry Valley’s lavish hospitality was restored with the opening of the diner.  Today carved wooden black bears at the entrance door look out over the valley again just like their natural predecessors 100 years before.  Now along the highways and byways of the Western United States, the family of Black Bear Diners is working to remind those dining with them of a time when life was simpler and service and quality defined a business.  They have succeeded in our opinion.