Ponderosa/Bonanza Steakhouse
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| Pondarosa Steakhouses, Inc. Bonanza Steakhouses, Inc. |
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| Type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Headquarters | Kokomo, Indiana |
| Industry | Casual dining, Buffet |
| Products | Steak, etc. |
| Parent | Metromedia Restaurants, Inc. |
| Website | [1] [2] |
Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse are a chain of buffet/steakhouse restaurants. They are two of the most franchised subsidiaries of Metromedia Restaurant Group.
Unlike other chains with two names like Checkers/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 together under MetroMedia - so the names overlap depending on who had restaurants where prior to merger.[1]
The names of the restaurants are derived from the classic TV series Bonanza, which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch. In fact, the Bonanza chain was started by Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on Bonanza.[2]
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[edit] History
In 1965, Ponderosa was founded in Kokomo, Indiana[3].
In 1967, Sam Wyly and his brother Charles Wyly bought the small Bonanza Steakhouse restaurant chain. The company grew to approximately 600 restaurants by 1989,[3], when the two brothers sold it.
[edit] Menu
Patrons have several options to choose from, including steaks, seafood, and chicken entrees. Occasionally, the company will run special promotions, such as "All you can eat shrimp". All entrees come with the buffet, as well as choice of potato. You can also purchase any entree as a platter, without the buffet. It's a little cheaper and you get a salad, hot side item, choice of potato and fresh bread.
A lunch menu is also served. While patrons can choose a dinner entree at any time, the lunch menu also includes sandwiches, as well as specially-priced lunch portions of the dinner entrees. The sandwiches typically only come with choice of potato; entrees are served with the buffet.
The chain features Pepsi products and also have a proprietary recipe of steak sauce.
[edit] Buffet
Buffets at the restaurants are typically divided into four different sections:
- Salad bar: Contains fruits, several premade salads, as well as an array of ingredients with which patrons can build their own salad.
- Hot food bar: Has a variety of side dishes such as green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and rice pilaf, as well as several entree items not included on the menu, such as fried chicken and meatloaf.
- Soup bar: Each restaurant offers several different soups to choose from, along with an assortment of crackers.
- Dessert bar: The dessert bar features all you can eat soft-serve ice cream with appropriate toppings, as well as desserts such as apple crisp and bread pudding.
Prior to the mid-1990s, restaurants did not have the hot food bar; instead using a long salad bar referred to as "Freshtastiks".
[edit] Locations
Outside of the United States:
- Canada
- Saskatchewan
- New Brunswick - licensed to Coady-Ac Enterprises Ltd
- Nova Scotia - licensed to Coady-Ac Enterprises Ltd
- Newfoundland - licensed to Coady-Ac Enterprises Ltd
- Ontario
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Taiwan
- UAE
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.ponderosasteakhouses.com/home.htm
- ^ Dan Blocker - Biography
- ^ "The 400 Richest Americans: #354, Samuel Wyly", Forbes magazine, September 21, 2006
