The Fierce Battle Between 2 Steakhouses Named For The Same TV Show
What's the only thing better than high-end steakhouse chains? An affordable buffet-style steakhouse, of course! In order to attract customers, though, such an establishment needs a good name, and the old TV show "Bonanza" is as good a thing as any to take inspiration from. This NBC program aired from 1959 all the way to 1973, and it was the first show set in the Wild West to be broadcast in color, making it an important part of American culture.
Its narrative centered around the fictional Ponderosa ranch, set in the real-world mining town of Virginia City, Nevada, circa the mid-1800s. Among the show's handful of stars was Dan Blocker, who famously played Hoss Cartwright, the gregarious middle brother of Bonanza's main-cast family. Blocker was a Texan whose father had owned a grocery store — as noted by Blocker's alma mater, Hardin-Simmons University — so Americana cuisine was nothing new to him. Who better to open a steakhouse named after "Bonanza" than Blocker himself?
Blocker was the first but not the last
Dan Blocker wasn't alone in his line of thinking. Blocker's steakhouse opened circa 1963 in a former Connecticut bus station (which coincidentally also sold food). Back then, Blocker's restaurant was called "Bonanza Sirloin Pit," but it seems he eventually realized a steakhouse would be more appealing to customers than some pit. As the "Bonanza" show and its characters continued to grow in popularity, so did Blocker and his restaurant.
However, in the mid-1960s, three Hoosier entrepreneurs had a similar idea and opened up the closely named "Ponderosa Steakhouse." Shortly afterward, apparently not wishing to deal with any competition, Blocker sold off his own food service company to an unrelated business. Both Bonanza Steakhouse and Ponderosa Steakhouse were then related to their namesake show in name only.
As the two chains competed for customers, Bonanza Steakhouse spread across the nation, opening up hundreds of restaurants. Yet, by the time the '90s rolled around, Bonanza Steakhouse was on the decline. Now, in the 21st century, there are less than a hundred of its locations left in the United States. Blocker is no longer with us, and neither is the original Bonanza Sirloin Pit site. Much like Bonanza Steakhouse, the Ponderosa Steakhouse chain is still around (also with less than a hundred sites), keeping folks fed with steaks and buffets. Surprisingly, though, the battle between Bonanza and Ponderosa drew to a close long ago.
Bonanza and Ponderosa called a truce
Those two steakhouse chains are now the same brand, one which simply goes by a pair of different names for convenience and old time's sake. Together, they have about 80 restaurants in less than a dozen states plus a small handful of foreign locales. Still, the brand is one of the best casual steakhouse chains in America to this very day.
These rival businesses teamed up back in 1989, as documented by the New York Times. Surprisingly, it was the younger chain, Ponderosa Steakhouse, that purchased the older one, Bonanza Steakhouse, for roughly $70 million. At the time, the merged company owned more than a thousand steakhouse restaurants globally. Unfortunately, despite declaring a ceasefire for their battle, these chains continued to suffer losses as the general food service war continued. Could their fortunes be about to change, though?
The pandemic, of course, did no favors for buffets. However, as recently as 2022, the Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouse president informed FSR Magazine that sales are increasing as families rush back to steakhouses and combat inflation by taking advantage of all-you-can-eat deals. It appears as if Ponderosa & Bonanza Steakhouse may find peace and victory in the end, after all.