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, hamburgers, seafood, and chicken and potato 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
In 1963, Dan Blocker, who played Eric "Hoss" Cartwright on Bonanza, 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,[4]