Doron Jensen

Doron Jensen
Jensen in August 2010
President of the Minnesota Restaurant Association
In office 2000–2001
President of Timber Lodge Steakhouse
In office 1991–1995
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Peter S. Bedzyk
Personal details
Born	(1958-09-01) September 1, 1958 Dubuque, Iowa, U.S.
Parents	Richard A. Jensen Bonnie L. Jensen
Residence	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Profession	Restaurateur

Doron Richard Jensen (born September 1, 1958) is an American restaurateur and principle founder of Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Homestyle Buffet, and Old Country Buffet.

Early life

Doron Richard Jensen was born in Dubuque, Iowa, to ministers Richard and Bonnie Jensen. Jensen spent much of his youth in Ethiopia before returning to the United States in 1965. He dropped out of a secondary school at the age of 16. Influenced by his grandfather's cafe, Jensen entered the restaurant business as a busboy.^[1] Jensen's parents were supportive of his endeavors from an early age. After the death of his grandfather, 20-year-old Doron felt ready to take over his grandfather's cafe. His parents helped arrange the takeover of the restaurant, but were subsequently blocked by other relatives that thought he was too young for the responsibility. Jensen briefly attended the University of Minnesota at the age of 25, after fulfilling the requirements to attend college, but dropped out.

Career

Buffets Inc

Jensen was brought into Old Country Buffet in by Roe Hatlen and C. Dennis Scott in 1983. Disagreements within the company, in regards to southern United States expansion, inevitably caused Jensen and key investor Dermot Rowland to leave the company to start their own spin off of the company, Homestyle Buffet.^[2] Buffets Incorporated eventually became the largest buffet chain in the country. Jensen opened Homestyle Buffets Inc in 1986 in Clearwater, Florida and the company went public on December 1, 1988.^[3] Jensen left the company after 40 restaurants to return to the Midwest to pursue other ventures.

Q-Steaks Inc

While in Florida, he was informed of a steakhouse concept that would eventually become Outback Steakhouse. It is disputed whether Jensen or Outback Steakhouse founder, Chris T. Sullivan, are attributed with rebooting the American steakhouse concept. Jensen decided to return to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he founded the company Q-Steaks Inc as the umbrella company for Minnesota Steakhouse in January 1991.^[4] The company went public on January 1, 1993.^[5] Jensen changed the name to Timber Lodge Steakhouse in 1994 when the company's reach expanded outside of Minnesota, with the exception of Paul Bunyan's in New York.^[6] In 1995, he resigned as President of the company, cited as a result of a long tenure of conflicts with business partner.^[7]

Politics

Jensen was elected as the President of the interest group the Minnesota Restaurant Association in 2000.^[8] Jensen's career has also included lobbyist efforts representing the National Restaurant Association in Washington DC. He has also served on various commerce boards in Minnesota.

Personal life

Doron Jensen is the son of American theologian Richard A. Jensen and Bonnie L. Jensen. Jensen was also a relative of author Moritz Thomsen. Jensen currently owns and operates a small collection of restaurants in the Twin Cities.^{[9][10][11][12]}

References

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