Ponderosa/Bonanza Steakhouse

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Ponderosa Steakhouses, Inc.
Bonanza Steakhouses, Inc.

Type	Wholly owned subsidiary
Founded	1965
Headquarters	Kokomo, Indiana
Industry	Casual dining, Buffet
Products	Steak, salad, seafood, soft drinks
Parent	Metromedia Restaurants, Inc.

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 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 PON Management scandal 2 Menu 2.1 Buffet 3 Menu 4 Locations 5 Footnotes 6 External links

History

In 1963, Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on Bonanza^[2] started the Bonanza Steakhouse chain. The first Bonanza opened in Westport, Connecticut.

In 1967, Sam Wyly and his brother Charles Wyly bought the small Bonanza restaurant chain. The company grew to approximately 600 restaurants by 1989,^[3], when the two brothers sold it.

In 1968, Dan Lasater, Norm Wiese and Charles Kleptz founded Ponderosa in Kokomo, Indiana.^[4] Norm Wiese was a local auto dealer for Oldsmobile and GMC Trucks.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997, Ponderosa and Bonanza became unified under the Metromedia Family Steakhouses organization, forming one large restaurant concept marketed under either the Ponderosa or Bonanza brand.

In late July 2008, the S&A Restaurant Group, a subsidiary of the Metromedia Restaurant Group, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy, and closed over 300 company-owned Bennigan's and Steak and Ale restaurants. The company said that company-owned locations would not reopen, that franchise locations would not be affected, and that the company would continue operations of the Bonanza and Ponderosa Steakhouse chains, which are owned by a different subsidiary, Metromedia Steakhouses Co. LP. Metromedia Restaurant Group also shut down the www.PONDEROSASTEAKHOUSES.com website along with www.BONANZASTEAKHOUSES.com. This could be a result of the sites having to be configured to remove much of the content that relates to the prior parent company, etc. A franchise in Rutland, Vermont was contacted on Thursday, August 7, 2008 , and explained they are still in business as usual and only the other two restaurant concepts are affected and even those will be bought out by franchisees. They are unsure when the Ponderosa and Bonanza websites will return online at this time as it was under the control of Metromedia Restaurant Group. As of December 17, 2008 the Ponderosasteakhouses.com and Bonanzasteakhouses.com websites have returned.

On 22 October 2008, Metromedia Steakhouses Company, L.P. and certain of its affiliates, which operate a chain of restaurants under the Ponderosa(R) Steakhouse and Bonanza(R) Steakhouse brands, announced that they filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company planned to reorganize around its franchise operations and a profitable core of company-operated restaurants. The company stressed that it would continue operating and that it will be business as usual. Bob Hoffman, President of the Company, emphasized that the filing will have a positive long-term impact on the Company's domestic and international operations.^{[5] [6]}

As of August 2009, the company is about to emerge from bankruptcy and Metromedia will become Homestyle Dining LLC.^[7] The two web sites have been reactivated.

PON Management scandal

As of September 2008, Fred Boukzam, 49, of Brooklyn, and his restaurant company, PON Management, owned and operated 15 Ponderosa restaurants in northeastern Ohio which nine of them have closed following a federal lawsuit involving what authorities said is one of the largest "check-kiting" schemes ever prosecuted in northeastern Ohio. Boukzam and PON Management were charged with one count of felony bank fraud stemming from the scheme.

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, or you can choose to have an entree without the buffet at a cheaper price.

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.

They also offer all you can eat steak.

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, grouper 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.

1976 saw the addition of the Salad Bar to the steakhouses, then an easy-to-maintain and hugely lucrative draw to restaurant operations.

Prior to 1984, restaurants did not have the hot food bar; instead using a long salad bar referred to as "The World's Biggest, Best Salad Buffet", as advertised on TV personally by then-company-president Gerald Office. Then the company rolled out the "Hot Spot" soup and salad buffet, which for a short time facilitated the addition of a breakfast daypart, in selected locations.

Some "Bonanza" restaurants' salad bars were also notable in having a large wedge of cheddar cheese customers would slice pieces off.

Menu

Although selections may vary from location to location, the following items are standard fare at every Ponderosa/Bonanza Steakhouse

Meats

• 4oz. New York Strip Steak
• 10oz. Marinara Meatballs
• Granny's Country Chicken
• 4oz. Steak Surprise
• Jr. Steakhouse Burger (children's menu)

Vegetables

• Baked Potatoes

Dessert Items

• Pecan Pie
• Cheesecake
• Carrot cake
• Jello

Beverages

• Iced Tea
• Coffee
• Hot Chocolate (seasonal)
• Pepsi
• 7-Up
• Orange Crush
• Mug Root Beer
• Milk

Locations

Outside of the United States:

• Puerto Rico (U.S. territory).
• Canada
  • Saskatchewan
  • New Brunswick - licensed to Coady-Ac Enterprises Ltd
  • Nova Scotia - licensed to Coady-Ac Enterprises Ltd (Closed 2007)
  • Newfoundland - licensed to Coady-Ac Enterprises Ltd (Closed 2007)
  • Ontario
    • Belleville - Closed 2007
    • Barrie - Closed 1990s, now a Moose Winooski's
    • Windsor - Closed
    • Toronto - Closed mid-1980s
  • Quebec
    • Montreal - Closed mid-1980s
• Bahrain
• Kuwait
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Taiwan
• UAE

Footnotes

Opening Soon in KHOBAR - KSA with two new locations in Jeddah & Riyadh

External links

• Ponderosa Steakhouse company site
• Bonanza Steakhouse company site