Shubhabrata Dutta
Created by Christopher Storer, FX’s comedy drama series ‘The Bear’ revolves around a guy named Carmy Berzatto. Carmy Berzatto is an award-winning chef with a fair share of trauma that regularly affects his daily culinary motivations at The Beef, an Italian sandwich shop in Chicago. It was previously owned by his brother, who took his own life, after which Carmy inherited it. His run for excellence in his profession faces a range of obstacles, including family issues, debts, arguments with peers, and needless to say, an unruly kitchen environment.
Season 3 ends with Sydney’s dilemma regarding whether to stay with Carmy or join Adam in a rival kitchen. It is up to Carmy to prove to Amy that he is capable of change. Season 4 ups the ante of The Beef’s fight for survival as the clock of flourishing has turned into a ticking time bomb of liquidation. While ‘The Bear’ deals with how a famous restaurant functions, the visuals incorporate the environment to showcase the culture it is a part of and how it is affected by the latter.
The Bear Season 4 Filming Locations
Season 4 of ‘The Bear’ is filmed entirely in Illinois, specifically in Chicago, Skokie, Evanston, and Glenview. Much of season 4 was shot with season 3 between February and May 2024. The remaining portion, under the working title ‘Four Seasons,’ was recorded in February and March 2025. Chicago is the main city in which the story takes place, and the crew left no stone unturned to provide the viewers with a proper view of the homeground of The Beef. The other locations served as bases for additional photography.
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, the capital of Illinois, became the base for the production of season 4 of ‘The Bear,’ just like the previous seasons. The crew used various sections, streets, and neighborhoods to highlight the homeground of The Beef. Mr. Beef, an Italian beef stand located at 666 North Orleans Street in River North, doubled for The Beef restaurant in the show. The interiors of The Beef are also modeled after it. Other structures that were utilized for filming include the historic Music Box Theatre, located at 3733 North Southport Avenue, a laundromat in Wicker Park, in Chicago’s West Side, and a basketball court at 1739 South Wabash Avenue in the South Loop. The areas nearby were taped for outdoor sequences. Pink flyers were put across the city to inform locals about the filming. Several scenes were lensed at North Avenue, where the popular North Avenue beach is, and the nearby Wood Street. A casting call was made for people willing to play bartenders in the show.
The crew taped several scenes at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus. It accessed the university’s Alpana restaurant, located at 831 North State Street, on the ground level of Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business. A lighting crane was set up to enhance the scenes. Cops kept the equipment loading and offloading in check. Some equipment trucks were parked outside the nearby Arrupe College, located at 1 East Pearson Street. The cops also controlled the traffic on West Pearson Street. Flyers were posted along West Delaware Place, West Rush Street, North Michigan Avenue, and West Chestnut Place, and all these streets and areas may have been used as backdrops.
Additionally, the Green Door Tavern, an eatery located at 678 North Orleans Street, and the area near The Franklin Room, a tavern at 675 North Franklin Street, were used to tape a few scenes. In Hoyne Avenue, the crew reportedly accessed a two-story house at 1056 North Hoyne Street and the area around it for a few shots. Lincoln Park, a picturesque neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, was used as a setting to highlight the city’s visual appeal. Chicago also served as the setting for ‘Deli Boys.’
Since ‘The Bear’ is a food-oriented show, it has showcased real, well-known restaurants and other shops. They include Lao Peng You, a Chinese restaurant at 2020 West Chicago Avenue in West Town; Publican Quality Meats, a well-known butcher store at 825 West Fulton Market; the Margie’s Candies ice cream shop at 1960 North Western Avenue in Bucktown; and Kasama, a Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant at 1001 North Winchester Avenue in the East Ukraine neighborhood. All these popular spots have been used to shoot scenes in previous seasons and may have been utilized in Season 4 as well.
While the above-mentioned locations were used for outdoor scenes, the Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, located at 2621 West 15th Place, became the base for indoor scenes requiring customizable set pieces. The scenes that take place inside The Beef were seemingly taped in one of the 36 active stages the studio boasts of. State-of-the-art facilities and a skilled crew make it one of the prime studios in the city and across the country. Other shows filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios include ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Chicago Med,’ ‘Stranger Things,’ and ‘The Umbrella Academy.’
Cook County, Illinois
Skokie, Illinois
The village of Skokie, located around 15 miles north of Chicago’s downtown Loop, was reportedly used for additional shots. Originally a German-Luxembourger farming community, it is a well-known suburb that is considered one of the best to commute to in Chicago due to its wide array of housing options. Iconic places to visit include Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, Skokie Theater, Emily Oaks Nature Center, and Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.
Evanston, Illinois
Akin to Skokie, Evanston, a city along Lake Michigan on the North Shore, was reportedly used as a backdrop to capture a few scenes and establishing shots. It is primarily known for its shopping areas, like Downtown, Chicago Avenue, Central Street, Dempster Street, and Howard Street. If you are into arts and culture, some points of interest can be Evanston Art Center, Frances Willard House, and Grosse Point Lighthouse. If you are into nature, you can go for Mount Trashmore and the North Shore Channel Trail.
Glenview, Illinois
The village of Glenview, located about 10 miles west of Evanston, was reportedly used for a handful of scenes. Skokie, Evanston, and Glenview offer a nature-laced background along with colorful buildings, all of which contribute to the show’s visual contrast and a soothing switch from Chicago’s urban surroundings. Reputed for its forest preserve and rich wildlife, the village is home to a variety of birds and animals, including but not limited to cardinals, mallard ducks, rabbits, opossums, and white-tailed deer. Some of the landmarks and spots you can visit are the Grove, the Historic Wagner Farm, Kohl Children’s Museum for kids, and Oil Lamp Theater.
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