This may come as a surprise, but Santa is actually an award-winning cook. When Bear Sloan isn’t filling in for Santa, taking photos with boys and girls in downtown Gainesville, he’s busy cooking chili and barbecue at his restaurant, Lazy Bear BBQ. Sloan opened the restaurant on McEver Road in Gainesville nearly 10 months ago. He’s been successfully competing in cookoffs around the area for the last eight years.
Bear Sloan competes on BBQ Pitmasters, hopes to put Gainesville area on the map