(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: February 25, 2020
Bear's Den Pizza Address: 235 Farris Rd Conway, AR 72034
Episode Recap
Bear’s Den Pizza was a Conway, Arkansas restaurant featured on Season 3 of Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.
Though the Bear’s Den Pizza 24 Hours to Hell and Back episode aired in February 2020, the actual filming and visit from Gordon Ramsay took place earlier in November 2019. It was Season 3 Episode 8 of 24 Hours to Hell and Back.
Bear’s Den Pizza is located in Conway, Arkansas.
Conway is a bit of a college town, as it’s the home of the University of Central Arkansas, which has an enrollment of over 12,000 students.
The Bear’s Den Pizza owners are two friends, Brad and Steven.
The pair opened the restaurant in 2008 and followed that by opening a bar soon after.
There are not many restaurants with liquor licenses in the dry neighborhood, Bear’s Den Pizza being one of the few that does.
The liquor license helps them attract a lot of college students who are more interested in drinking than just eating pizza. However, it can push away local families.
Stacy, a bartender, says the bar used to be crowded every night, but now they have a bad reputation and bad food.
Steve drinks at the bar and is typically drunk.
Gordon comes into the restaurant as a hippie – he looks ridiculous with his huge hat. Two professors accompany him.
Gordon is not impressed by Bear’s Den Pizza.
The decor is crumbling, and there is a foul smell.
The table orders a wide array of foods while the owner, Steve, can be seen drinking at the bar.
The food comes out overcooked and lousy tasting.
Gordon decides this is enough and calls all the staff together. He removes his disguise.
Gordon takes the staff, customers, and owners to his Hell on Wheels Truck.
The hidden camera footage shows rodent droppings and frozen food.
The restaurant is also missing over ninety bottles of alcohol.
Gordon brings the staff together for a meeting.
The team says Steve drinks too much at the bar and fights when confronted about it. Brad also does nothing about it.
Steve says the walls are his, so he can put holes in them if he wants to.
The pizza trays are disgusting. Gordon has the staff deep clean the kitchen.
The kitchen staff then joins Gordon in the truck to see the new menu.
Gordon and Brad talk, and Brad says he is shocked by the extent of the issues.
Gordon tells Brad he will not relaunch the restaurant if Steven continues this behavior.
Steven and Gordon meet, and Steven admits the customers want to drink with him.
Steven claims he quit drinking, but Gordon can smell the liquor on his breath.
The Bear’s Den Pizza remodel is finished ahead of schedule, much to the delight of Brad, who is impressed.
Gordon shows Brad a picture taken of Steven that morning drinking in his car.
Brad tells Steven the best thing for him would be to become a silent partner to get help.
During the relaunch, the customers love the new food and décor.
The kitchen staff begins to struggle with making pizza dough.
Local food bloggers and critics are served undercooked pizza but are impressed with their re-cooked dishes.
Bear's Den Pizza Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Bear’s Den Pizza 24 Hours to Hell and Back episode, let’s talk about what happened after Gordon Ramsay left the den and rolled out of Conway, AR in the Hell on Wheels truck.
A few months after, we learn that the cooks are continuing to level up their pizza skills (though this might not be permanent, as you’ll see in a second).
However, Steven decided to take a step back to focus on other things, so he’s not as involved with the Bear’s Den Pizza restaurant as he was before.
I hope he’s able to figure out his drinking problem and live a healthy life.
Is Bear’s Den Pizza still open after Gordon Ramsay?
As of 2022, Bear’s Den Pizza is still open and serving customers in Conway, AR. Reviews are good but not great and it generally seems to attract people as a college bar hang rather than a pizza restaurant.
For example, sometimes minors are forced to leave because they can’t show ID, which sounds more like a bar than a pizza restaurant.
For example, check out this Yelp review from Seth:
After Gordon Ramsey came and did the makeover and I saw a post that they were hoping to get more families coming in I was eager to give it a shot. I can’t comment on the food as we didn’t get an opportunity to eat. We walked in and met a not so pleasant bouncer checking ID’s at 8pm and he insisted that because we had minors they had to be out by 10pm.
Still, it’s going strong so far, which is great to see.
If you want to learn more about the restaurant or see the Bear’s Den Pizza menu, you can check out the official Bear’s Den Pizza website.
Overall, the Bear’s Den Pizza Gordon Ramsay visit seems to be a success for now. If anything changes, we’ll be sure to update this page.
If you want to see how another Arkansas restaurant fared after getting help from Gordon Ramsay, check out our South Boulevard/SoBo update.
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bears-den-pizza-conwayhttps://www.facebook.com/bearsdenpizzaconway/
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And don't forget to check out the full 24 Hours to Hell and Back open and closed list.
Last updated: 2022-02-15 07:12
I loved the Bear’s Den Pizza episode and was glad to see Steven leave. I’m surprised Gordon didn’t tell him to get a hair cut and spruce up his appearance, especially if he was unsure that Brad could get him out. Sorry to hear about the bouncer turning away families. Hope Brad keeps up the good work and I hope Steve does get some help with his drinking and nasty appearance.