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Ponderosa Steakhouse history
Ponderosa Steakhouse company history timeline
In 1965, the first Ponderosa restaurant opened in Kokomo, Indiana.
We’ve been franchising since 1966, and with 80 restaurants in ten states and six outlying territories, Ponderosa & Bonanza is quite the bonanza.
The first Ponderosa Steak House was established in 1968 in Kokomo, Indiana, by Dan Lasater and Norm Wiese.
Ponderosa's best year of the decade came in 1978, when the company chalked up $13.8 million in profits on an estimated $272 million in sales.
The first came in 1980, when General Host Corp., the Stamford, Connecticut, parent of Hickory Farms, made its play for the steak houses.
In 1982, CEO Office directed the acquisition of the five-unit Casa Lupita Mexican dinner chain.
Then, in 1984, third-ranking Bonanza (United StatesA. Cafes) tendered a $154.8 million takeover bid for Ponderosa.
The six TV stations he sold to Rupert Murdoch in 1985 had formed the core of the Fox television network.
Charles Bernstein of Nation's Restaurant News editorialized that Ponderosa was "just a financial toy in Edelman's growing network of unrelated companies" and mourned "the loss of [the restaurant industry's] entrepreneurial spirit" in a March 1988 commentary.
Holdraker resigned in 1989 and was replaced by J. Michael Jenkins.
Bonanza franchisees were chagrined to hear that Rogers was included in a 1989 management purge.
The acquisitions gave Metromedia a stronghold of 1,300 units and over one-third of the $4 billion (1989) steak segment of the restaurant market.
To top it off, by 1993 Ponderosa had slipped from number one to number two, and Bonanza dropped to sixth place in annual sales.
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Ponderosa Steakhouse competitors
Company Name  | Founded Date | Revenue | Employee Size | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panera Bread | 1981 | $2.8B | 140,000 | 1,671 |
| Wendy's | 1969 | $2.1B | 12,500 | 6,247 |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | 1982 | $2.0B | 44,000 | 1,732 |
| Darden Restaurants | 1968 | $10.5B | 175,000 | 4,993 |
| Applebee's Canada | 1980 | $2.5B | 28,000 | 967 |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill | 1993 | $8.6B | 64,570 | 4,491 |
| Cinnabon | 1985 | $1.3M | 30 | 11 |
| Ruby Tuesday | 1972 | $952.0M | 32,100 | 1,262 |
| Noodles & Company | 1995 | $509.5M | 7,001 | 1,133 |
| Chili's Grill & Bar | 1975 | $4.1B | 13,000 | 339 |
Ponderosa Steakhouse history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Ponderosa Steakhouse, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Ponderosa Steakhouse. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Ponderosa Steakhouse. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Ponderosa Steakhouse. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Ponderosa Steakhouse and its employees or that of Zippia.
Ponderosa Steakhouse may also be known as or be related to HOMESTYLE DINING LLC, HomeStyle Dining, Homestyle Dining, Homestyle Dining LLC and Ponderosa Steakhouse.