Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse are a chain of buffet/steakhouse restaurants that are a part of Homestyle Dining LLC based in Plano, Texas.
Unlike other chains with two names, such as Checkers and Rally's, which uses only one of the names in a given region, restaurants in a given region could be named either Bonanza or Ponderosa. This is because Bonanza and Ponderosa were separate companies, which were later merged under the Metromedia Restaurant Group.
The names of the restaurants were derived from the classic TV series Bonanza, which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch.
History
In 1963, Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on Bonanza, started the Bonanza Steakhouse chain. The first Bonanza opened in Westport, Connecticut. Sam Wyly and his brother Charles Wyly bought the small Bonanza restaurant chain three years later. The company grew to approximately 600 restaurants by 1989, when the Wylys sold it.
In 1965, Dan Lasater, Norm Wiese and Charles Kleptz founded Ponderosa in Kokomo, Indiana, moving the headquarters to Dayton, Ohio in 1971.
Ponderosa began operations to Canada by at least 1971, amid little apparent demand in the US, and remained in Canada until 1984, when the post-recession US appeared to present a more viable market for expansion. After closing all Canadian Ponderosa restaurant locations, the company returned to generating US restaurant franchises in 1985, reversing a previous freeze on new US franchises in the move to Canada. At that time, 36 Canadian Ponderosa locations were acquired by General Mills Restaurant Group which converted them to Red Lobster restaurants. In the meantime, Bonanza maintained a presence in Canada.
In 1988, Ponderosa was sold to Metromedia.
In 1997, Ponderosa and Bonanza united under the Metromedia Family Steakhouses organization to form a single restaurant concept marketed under either the Ponderosa or Bonanza brand. MFS was a forerunner company of the former Metromedia entertainment conglomerate founded by John Kluge.
The chain's parent company, Metromedia Steakhouses Company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008, although it planned to reorganize around franchise operations and a profitable core of company-operated restaurants. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the name "Homestyle Dining LLC".
Menu
Ponderosa's menu includes steaks, seafood, and chicken entrées, all of which come with the buffet for a nominal charge, and a choice of potato. A lunch menu is also served. Patrons may choose a dinner entrée at any time, the lunch menu also includes sandwiches and specially priced lunch portions of dinner entrées. Sandwiches typically include simply a choice of potato, whereas entrées include access to the buffet.
The chain features Pepsi products and has a proprietary steak sauce recipe.
Buffet
Buffets at the restaurants are typically divided into four different sections:
- Salad bar: Contains fruits, several pre-made salads, and an array of ingredients from which patrons may build their own salads.
- Hot food bar: Offers several side dishes such as green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and rice pilaf, plus several off-menu entrée items such as fried chicken, grouper and meatloaf.
- Soup bar: Each restaurant offers assorted soups and crackers.
- Dessert bar: The dessert bar features all-you-can-eat soft-serve ice cream with toppings, and desserts such as apple crisp, gelatin, and bread pudding.
Before 1984, restaurants did not offer a hot food bar, but marketed a long salad bar as "The World's Biggest, Best Salad Buffet", as advertised on TV by then-company-president Gerald Office. The company later introduced a "Hot Spot" soup and salad buffet, which for a brief trial facilitated promoting a breakfast menu in selected locations.
See also
- List of buffet restaurants
References
External links
- Ponderosa Steakhouse company site
- Bonanza Steakhouse company site
- Last Ponderosa Closed in Canada
- Last Ponderosa Set to Close (Moncton, Canada)
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