![]() ![]() Terry Rogers, president of the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce, said she was not surprised that so many people came on opening day because the restaurant already has a good reputation. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was at 10am, but by 11:00 the restaurant was packed. “I look forward to it having a huge success, and I am going to be eating here a lot.” ![]() “I am really proud to have Black Bear open their corporate store here in Signal Hill,” said Signal Hill Councilmember Larry Forester. “The Black Bear will provide good variety for Signal Hill and Long Beach residents,” he said, adding that there is every indication that the restaurant will enjoy success. Signal Hill City Manager Ken Farfsing agreed. “This is a nice family restaurant, which is important for our city.” “We are really happy to be here for the grand opening of the Black Bear Restaurant, and we are happy to have them here,” said Signal Hill Vice Mayor Mike Noll. The company’s corporate headquarters is in Redding, California. Johnson still lives in northern California. Both of them recently moved to this area. Sear and Strong were part of the management team in the Davis Black Bear Diner until a few months ago. “We and the health department were on the same page from day one.” ![]() “That process went smoothly too,” he said. “The time frame for getting our permits was much shorter than we have experienced elsewhere.” He added that from the day the decision was made to open in Signal Hill to the grand opening was about six months.Įric Strong, assistant general manager, noted that the Los Angeles County Department of Health also inspected the restaurant and granted the necessary county permits. Ron Sear, general manager of the new diner, said he is pleased by the way Signal Hill city officials worked to make the permitting process easy. The former Bob’s Big Boy, close to the 405 Freeway and on a main arterial street that crosses many busy boulevards, is an ideal location, she added. “We also decided that the Long Beach-Signal Hill area is a great community for us to open our first Southern California venture.” She noted that the company specializes in converting already existing restaurant facilities into Black Bear Diners. “We took a look around and discovered that this region offers a good opportunity for us because there are not many family-friendly dining concepts here,” she said. The Signal Hill diner is the company’s first in Southern California. Shasta franchise and Dean owns the Redding franchise. The other two are in Davis and Modesto, California.” She added that the Manleys own the Mt. “Most of our locations are owned by franchisees, but this store is one of our three corporate-owned locations. “Currently, we have 52 restaurants in nine states,” she said. She added that since 1995, the company has experienced phenomenal growth. Johnson explained that in a very short time, the first restaurant became very popular among locals and tourists, so the three partners decided to expand to other locations. “Their goal was to create a family-friendly, fun environment where people could get good old-fashioned family food at a reasonable price.” “Our founders, Bob and Laurie Manley, and their partner Bruce Dean opened the first Black Bear Diner in Mt. Jolisa Johnson, Black Bear Diner Corporation’s director of marketing, came down from northern California for opening day, and she talked a little about the history of the company during the event. The diner is located in the building formerly occupied by Bob’s Big Boy Restaurant on Willow Street near Cherry Avenue. City and chamber of commerce officials joined restaurant management in the ribbon-cutting ceremony and then entered the 120-seat eatery where they were treated to breakfast on the house. The grand opening of Black Bear Diner in Signal Hill last week (July 25) was a festive occasion. Officials of the City of Signal Hill and representatives of the Signal Hill Chamber of Commerce participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony during the grand opening of Black Bear Diner on July 25.
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