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Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses

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  • Ponderosa Steakhouse
  • Bonanza Steakhouse
Company typeWholly owned subsidiary
IndustryCasual dining, buffet
Founded1965; 59 years ago (1965)
HeadquartersPlano, Texas
Number of locations
15 in U.S.; 36 worldwide (2024)[1] [2]
ProductsSteak, salad, seafood
ParentFAT Brands
Websitepon-bon.com
A Ponderosa Steakhouse in West Branch, Michigan (now closed).

Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse are a chain of buffet/steakhouse restaurants that are a part of Homestyle Dining LLC based in Plano, Texas.[3] Its menu includes steaks, seafood, and chicken entrées, all of which come with their buffet. A lunch menu is also served.

Unlike some other chains with two names which use only one of the names in a given region, restaurants in the same locale 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 TV series Bonanza, which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch.

History

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A Bonanza steakhouse in Marquette, Michigan, in 2011. This location has since closed.

In 1963, Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on Bonanza,[4] 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,[5] when the Wylys sold it to Metromedia.[6]

In 1965, Dan Lasater, Norm Wiese and Charles Kleptz founded Ponderosa in Kokomo, Indiana, moving the headquarters to Dayton, Ohio, in 1971.[7]

Ponderosa began operating in Canada by 1971 and until 1986, when its focus moved to post-recession US, had nearly 150 locations across the country. After closing most Canadian Ponderosa restaurants,[8] the company returned to generating US restaurant franchises in 1986, 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.[9] In the meantime, Bonanza maintained a presence in Canada.[10] The last Canadian location closed in November, 2010.[11]

In February 1988, Ponderosa was sold to Metromedia Restaurant Group.[7] In September 1989, Metromedia acquired rival Bonanza, combining the two chains.[12] In 1997, Ponderosa and Bonanza united under the Metromedia Family Steakhouses (MFS) organization to be marketed under the Ponderosa or Bonanza brands. MFS was one of founder John Kluge's companies using the Metromedia name.

After its S&A Restaurant Group division was forced into an involuntary Chapter 7 liquidation by its lender, GE Capital, in August 2008, and closed over 300 company-owned Bennigan's and Steak & Ale restaurants,[13] 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.[14][15] It emerged from bankruptcy in 2009 under the name "Homestyle Dining LLC".[16]

The chain engaged Trinity Capital LLC as its financial advisor in 2016 and was sold in late 2017 to FAT Brands, the owner of Fatburger, Buffalo's Cafe and Hurricane Grill & Wings. FAT Brands has approximately 300 locations open, with another 300 under development in 32 countries.[17][18]

In 1989, there were almost 700 Ponderosa locations. By 2003, there were fewer than 400 locations. As of December 2024, only 12 Ponderosa locations and 3 Bonanza locations currently remain open in the US.[19][20][21] [22][23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "All Ponderosa & Bonanza Locations | steaks, seafood, buffet". pon-bon.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouse". fatbrands.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  3. ^ Richard K. Miller & Associates (2006). The Restaurant and Foodservice Market Research Handbook. Richard K. Miller & Associates. p. 168. ISBN 9781577831075. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "Dan Blocker". IMDb. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "The 400 Richest Americans: #354, Samuel Wyly" Archived June 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Forbes magazine, September 21, 2006
  6. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; Ponderosa To Buy Rival". The New York Times. August 31, 1989. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Stephens, Caleb. "Local Ponderosa restaurants fall from six to two" Archived May 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Dayton Business Journal, April 18, 2003.
  8. ^ Mazerolle, Brent (November 7, 2010). "Last Ponderosa set to close". Winnipeg Free Press. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Deanne Brandon (November 1, 1985). "General Mills Restaurants - 11.01.85 - SI Vault". Orlandosentinel.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  10. ^ "Mystery of Bonanza safe cracked". Saskatoon StarPhoenix. April 29, 2017. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Nov 2010: Last Ponderosa set to close". November 7, 2010. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "31 Dec 1969, - at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. (subscription required)
  13. ^ Jeffrey McCracken and Janet Adamy, "Bennigan's, Steak & Ale Close, File for Bankruptcy Protection" Archived September 12, 2024, at the Wayback Machine, Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2008
  14. ^ SOURCE: Metromedia Steakhouses Company, L.P.
  15. ^ "Parent of Ponderosa, Bonanza steakhouses files for bankruptcy " "Dallasnews.com", October 22, 2008
  16. ^ Plano-based Metromedia Steakhouses Company emerges from Chapter 11, renamed Homestyle Dining LLC Archived March 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine "Pegasus News", October 16, 2009
  17. ^ SOURCE: BusinessWire
  18. ^ "FAT Brands Completes Acquisition of Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses for $10.5 Million " "www.businesswire.com", October 31, 2017
  19. ^ Maas, Tyler (October 19, 2022). "I went to the last Ponderosa in Wisconsin (and one of the last locations in the world)". Milwaukee Record. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  20. ^ standardspeaker.com/news/bonanza-closes-doors-for-final-time-in-hazle-twp/article_b990a8F9-bbc4-530d-bdd0-c1752149d288.html
  21. ^ "Last Call: St. Cloud Bonanza Steakhouse Set to Permanently Close Today (Friday)". October 28, 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  22. ^ "Ponderosa & Bonanza US E-Club Email Lists". Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Writer, Kelly Monitz Staff (November 9, 2021). "Bonanza closes doors for final time in Hazle Twp". Hazleton Standard Speaker. Archived from the original on September 12, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
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