The Decline of Ponderosa...What Happened?
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- Опубликовано: 26 мар 2024
- For two decades, Ponderosa was America's biggest steakhouse. Today, they hardly exist. This video attempts to explain what happened.
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In 1985, I was a senior in high school and told my mom that if she quit smoking (after 10 years), I’d take her to a steak dinner at Ponderosa! Working fast food part time for $2.85 an hour and trying to save for a car, mom knew I must really be worried about her lungs. She quit cold turkey and we went for steaks and salad bar! We had a ball and I was so proud of her! She died a few months ago, so this brought back some happy memories for me. ❤
Well I'm glad you managed to get her to change, she definitely got some more time on this earth with you because of it. You're awesome because of that! Sorry for your loss :c
So sorry 💜 Glad you shared such a wonderful memory
Sorry to hear she died right after quitting smoking😢
@@kaynemccully5266what??? Please read it again cause she just passed away a few months ago which means she survived roughly another 40+ years after she quit smoking!! I’m proud of both her and her son!!
I also graduated in 1985 and my dad had been the general manager of one of the locations for a number of years. That is where my love for ribeye steaks to this day originated from. Mom would load us all up on Wednesday or Thursday nights and head to Ponderosa for family night and I would get the ribeye dinner cooked medium and if they weren’t busy then dad would join us and if was the one night a week we would have dinner as a family. I have a lot of great memories from Ponderosa and wish they could have survived!!
They had a dish called "Sirloin Tips", basically cut up chunks of steak with mushrooms and onions. In the 80s, this was the pinnacle of culinary excellence for my family.
Edit - ok people telling me this is a common dish at many restaurants, shows how much I go to these types of restaurants 😂
That was one of my dad’s favorites.
My single mom would take us to Sizzler, pay for one salad bar that would feed the three of us. I don't know how we got away with it. Of course I loved the self serve ice cream bar.
STEAK AND MUSHROOMS????
Sign me up!!
Whenever I decided to order those with the buffet I felt like my last name was Rockefeller.
I loved those!
I met my wife at the Ponderosa Steak House on ONT Orlando in 1978. We got married the next year and have been ever since. Thank goodness for Ponderosa. Sad to say that location has been gone for some time now.
I did forget to mention that the reason I went there was to pick up sister.
I worked for Ponderosa as a dishwasher, prep cook and broil cook from 1989 to 1991. I was a certified trainer for them. To this day, I have never found chicken wings that have tasted better.
I was a disher in 1990 for 6 months back in high school, then spent the next two years waiting tables. I know the wings you are talking about, I would put hot sauce on them and eat them all most every day!
I've spent the better part of my life since then as a professional chef. My current job I've been at for 6 months (sous chef, independent living facility), and they get these breaded wings that for the first time in my life since Ponderosa taste like I remember the Ponderosa wings tasting. They are from a company called Pierce Chicken and the product is called Wing Dings. I don't think you can find them in grocery stores, but food service vendors (Sysco) carry them, and I think Costco Business does and I know Webstaurantstore does. They come in 15 lb boxes and run between 5-6$ per pound. So if you really want to find that Ponderosa chicken wing, you can order a 15lb case from Webstaurantstore for probably $100 including delivery. To cook you just fry in 350F oil for about 4 minutes.
Those chicken wings were great. I too, never found any to even come close.
My dad 64 still goes to the one by our house to this day and brings home 25 at a time lol
You must not live in the Buffalo, NY area lol, I'd take Duff's wings any day of the week over Ponderosa's. Even your average pizzeria around here has amazing wings.
They had such a unique flavor. Despite living in a city drenched with excellent wings, I still think about eating Ponderosa wings as a child. Now that I'm older, I think I know the secret... plenty of MSG.
My mom was a widow with three kids. Ponderosa was a huge treat for us when I was a kid. She took us every 2 months or so and we felt like royalty. I wish they were still around.
There is one outside Cincinnati that I know of
They still exist.
@@melissavaughndance5501 And one in Kissimmee, FL
Kid's of single parent's really appreciate the experience of dining out because it is a special treat. As a single mom, myself, I used to feel bad I couldn't do more, but looking back I realize things like that made my kid's more appreciative of everything.
They seem to be mostly concentrated in PA and OH now.
I remember Clarksville Tennessee had 3 all owned by the same person. My mom worked there for years. The owner very humble man who took care of his employees. All he asked was that if something was going on you let him know. They were always sufficiently staffed and compensated. I remember before leaving Clarksville the owner got pancreatic cancer and passed away at like 39. I was a young child but I was always thankful for what he did for my family. RIP Mr. Wright
Wrong.
Rest in peace sounds like an honorable man
39 years old. That's so young. May he rest in peace
I used to go to the one by Ft.Campbell. Had really good food, and the crew and management were really nice.
It’s always the good ones that die young.
So I actually have a Ponderosa about 20 minutes away from me. It is in Butler, PA right by Clearview mall. I absolutely love this place and we do go to it probably like.... 10 times a year. Every time we go it is always very busy. The food is always good and service is always great. They don't have the original chicken wings like they used to have, which is a let down, but their meat loaf is some of the best I have ever had. I hope this place stays around forever. My go to is always the Sirloin Tips with onions and mushrooms, and a side of fries, and wrapped to go since I only eat the buffet when im there.
I'm in Western NY, on my next trip to Pittsburgh I'm going to stop off in Butler. Thank you for sharing
i hate that they dont have their old wings, the ones they have now never do it for me. I find it crazy out of the hundreds that have closed Butler's is still there.
Ya killin me dude, I'd pay $50 a plate to have either back in Georgia.😢
Everyone here in the comments who remembers visiting (or currently visit) keep talking about the wings and the sirloin tips with mushrooms. I've never even heard about this place before this video but now I must try the darn tips with mushrooms. And I'm even upset about the wings they discontinued that I never got to try and now never will.
I don't even know if I even live near one at all. I gotta stop watching food related videos while hungry 😑
As a child I would go back to the buffet again and again to stack up another huge plate of those wings. God they were good. And the ice cream for dessert just completed the experience.
My first job at age 16 was at a Ponderosa outside of Buffalo in the late 70s and I worked there through the early 80s.
The lasting friendships I made and memories of those years overshadow my high school years.
Thank you Ponderosa!
My dad was a manager in western ny in the 80’s. Transit Rd, Jamestown, Olean, and Fredonia.
I worked at the Dick Rd location in Depew/Cheektowaga from '78 through '83 and loved every minute of it.
My newly married self and my wife were steady patrons in the 80's at the Ponderosa Steakhouse at the Throuway Mall in Cheektowaga and loved the Sauteed Sirloin Tips.
We went to Transit Road sometimes; line went all around the building but it moved fairly quickly.
I was more into McD's @ age 8-10 but Ponderosa had burgers & fries, if I remember correctly:/
I used to work there as a teen, Still put the grill cross on my steaks.
The menu was numbered. The lead cook would call out the number and the second cook would throw the corresponding steak on the grill. Around ten choices. If the cook called out "Fifteen Rare" it meant a hot chick was coming through the line and all the dishwasher guys would come running to check her out.
TOOO funny! Thanks.
🤣🤣🤣
Place, turn, rotate, turn.
@@DaveDeVault I didn't say it was difficult! 😀
🥰😂🥰🤣🥰😅
My dad worked for ponderosa from 1979 to 2000 and then owned 5 stores from 2000 to 2004. I sent him this video and he said:
“It’s spot on. When Metro media bought us, we were done.
John Kluge used it to sell his own chemicals to us from another company he owned and never updated the company.
When they tried to it was too late.”
A lot of good memories as a kid as it pertains to Ponderosa. But also, ended up being a very dark ending which lead to some tough times for our family. Thanks god my dad is the GOAT when it comes to hard work.
That’s kinda shit, looks like his plan was to get time with everyone while leaving something to support them eventually. Hope he came back even more successful.
Scary to think you can be a successful business owner with 5 restaurants who loses it all because some dicks in suits you've never met made some business agreement you knew nothing about. Actually that describes most jobs I've had.
I used to go to Ponderosa with my grandparents after church. It was definitely a great incentive to attend services. I knew I would be handsomely rewarded. I absolutely loved going! I really wish there was one in my area again I would definitely go there with my family now.
Whether you're devout or not, food almost always tastes better after Church.
Don't go there now, the food is pretty much like what you would expect at a truck stop
I'm one of seven kids and I remember going to Ponderosa a lot as a kid. It was decently priced, offered the buffet, was easy to budget for since we all got the buffet so the bill was the same every time, and was much simpler than helping everyone read the menu and decide what we wanted. I thought it was very fancy that we got to go to a steakhouse. I have a lot of good memories there.
Our high school swim team used to eat at Ponderosa when we went to Springville for a meet. I remember clearly stacking chicken wing bones on plate in the middle.
I used to LOVE going to Ponderosa. I miss salad bars.
As a child I never knew it was designed to be low cost option.
Same. I loved being able to pick my own food as a kid.
I still love salad bars. There are a few still left in the Midwest like Pizza Ranch.
I’m floored because there’s still a ponderosa in PA that’s doing quite well.
what about the sundae bar....?
Salad bars are often found at expensive dining restaurants these days... 😅
Walked over to my cutlery drawer, opened it and gazed upon all my coveted Ponderosa steak knives. Good memories.
Did you steal them? :D
@@LarryHello you
Ah hah! Now we know the REAL cause of the decline!! 🤨
And I thought I was the only one. My mom had sticky fingers when it came to restaurants back in the 80s.
I worked there in high school for two years, brought at least one home per shift in my apron. You do the math.
My family always went to Ponderosa on New Years Day. My grandmother put her foot down one year and said she was not making big dinners for her five kids and their family's for both Christmas and New Years so close together and we could all just meet at Ponderosa. Brilliant idea! We always called ahead and got a big room for all of us, and grandma didn't have to cook or clean up. It quickly became our tradition until the restaurant closed in the late 2000's
Dishwasher at Ponderosa was my brother's first job in the late 90s.
The place is very nostalgic for me, and now you have me wanting to drive an hour away to the nearest one still open just for a subpar meal.
I still miss my local ponderosa, it's been nearly 17 years since I've last ate at their buffet. Eating a big plate of salad with 2 big plates of wings, mac & cheese, mash potatoes, pizza and finish off with a cup of ice cream was the norm for me. Now a rite aid took over that former location
The way things are looking for them, that Rite-Aid location might not be long for this world, either.
@@brandonjames412 Yeah, CVS and Walgreens seem to have a monopoly now
Havent been to Ponderosa since 07. I use to love going in the 90s with my granny(RIP).Great memories.
I went last summer while visiting my kids in Ohio. There is one about an hour and a half from Cincinnati in a town called Hillsboro. It was a great experience. The only down side is now you have to buy the buffet separately from your steak. The food was great though!!!
My grandma would always bring us here as well. Hope our Grannies are eatin together up at the Ponderosa in heaven
@@tylerschwartz5680 Sometimes when my parents took the family out to a steakhouse, we'd take my grandmother along. When one of my parents would ask her how her steak was, she'd invariably answer, "It tastes like a dead cow."
Yeah.
Ponderosa was BIG here in California and Oregon back in the 90's and early 00's it wasn't my favorite restaurant but it was good lol.
I'm surprised it still existed in 2007. (It pulled out of my city in the 1970s.)
I loved our local Ponderosa when it was all wood booths that were like cattle stalls, it was a big treat to go there. When they "updated" the restaurant it felt like it had lost its soul and was never the same again. For me, updating the look and feel of the restaurant is what changed it from Ponderosa to just another chain restaurant.
Any unsealed wood is a petri dish for bacteria. That was part of the problem with Black Angus also, those wood surfaces. Not only were they unsanitary but disgusting if you looked closely. That whole "unfinished look" with bare wood and exposed air ducting is SOOOOO 70's!
Chuck E. Cheese’s made the same mistake
Just like Pizza Hut 🍕😞
@@LookToWindwardI think Charles E Cheese had other issues. The demographic is 5-12 year olds. They don't care about the same things adults do.
I agree 💯% I liked how they had it set up originally as well!
My brother worked at Ponderosa for a year or two. He said the meat came in boxes marked "utility grade - fit for human consumption".
In college we just went for the all you can eat salad bar.
Growing up in the late 70's and 80's whenever my parents asked where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner it was Ponderosa every time lol.
We used to eat at Ponderosa often when I was a kid, but I will always remember them for this: After the one near me closed, no one else moved into the building for many years, so all the old Ponderosa branding was left in place. At one point, part of the restaurant sign fell down, so for the next several years there was this huge roadside sign that just said "PONDER." It looked especially eerie on foggy days.
The best was the Middlesex Mall sign in NJ, that for years just said "M sex". I miss that sign.
There was a Black Angus in Columbus that the G fell off the sign. It stayed that way for a few weeks. Business declined.
@MrRainbow228 Eventually other tenants moved in. Last I heard it's a Ninety-Nine restaurant now
In my town the restaurant was called Bonanza and then changed to Ponderosa. The building gradually disintegrated to the point of falling down.
I used to go to one in Pittsburgh with my father when I was in my thirties and forties .
We would take turns paying .
I still think about those times as I age ( I'm in my sixties now ) and I would give just about anything to be able to pick up the phone and call my old man , and go out to dinner one more time .
😢
I felt that in my soul
We still have one in butler
I think we’d all love to have that one last phone call and one last dinner, but unfortunately, we’d still want another after that. It’s so much harder than I ever expected it to be losing our parents!! This getting old chit is much harder than anyone could have ever prepared us for and I wish we could turn the clocks back 40-50 years and slow time down some.
I"m with you....there's a few relatives I know of that are no longer with me...that I wish I could have a cigar with and a beer...good people.
I'd been dining at my local Bonanza for nearly 40 years, since I was a young child. I introduced my wife to it, we introduced our kids to it, and it became a family favorite. I have so many wonderful memories of late nights in high school and college at the local Bonanza. Great (ok, good enough) food at an unbeatable price. After the pandemic, my local Bonanza struggled to stay open with supply chain and worker shortages. Sadly, they were forced to close and even the building is now gone too.
I just want to take a moment to thank Company Man’s dedication to a subject we all love and no one else researched and talked about.
Most underrated wings ever.
Our Ponderosa lasted until 2020 when the pandemic took it out. The building has been leveled since.
I loved the soft serve ice cream and buffet. My local one always gave out free kids buffets for perfect attendance at school.
Towards the end, the quality of food at the buffet just wasn't good. Every time I would go, I would say to myself "maybe this time it will be better" and it never was.
Was that greenfield IN?
@@xeslana6505 No, Chippewa Township, PA
@@mae2759 That's so sad used to stop at that one when driving through but haven't done so since the pandemic
Chicken wings are so good.
YO real shit! Best wings ever.
I'll be honest. I didn't even know Ponderosa was still open until watching this video.
it was very popular here in Puerto Rico and they had lots of locations here but they went bankrupt like 7 years ago i think and now they only have a few locations
I was driving though Coldwater Michigan.....that one is still open
There are twenty locations remaining, mainly in the east coast... I wonder how's their food?
Same here.
tbh I went there jus 3 days ago for the buffet, its still rather cheap here
I have some distant memories of going to Ponderosa with my parents when I was a kid. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
In the Cincinnati area we still have a ponderosa. It is old, dingy and very expensive for the quality of meat. I went there once last year and that was adequate nostalgia for me…
I haven't been to a Ponderosa in over 35 years. Like Company Man Stated they had not spent money on re-decorating and it looked run down, their buffet selection was tired. While I enjoyed the steaks as a teen, by the late 1980s it was closed up. That location sat empty for many years until it was sold and bulldozed for a Senior Living Apartments.
Damn kinda ironic.
In the late 1970's I was in university living off campus, more or less across the street from a Ponderosa. When money was tight Ponderosa was the best bang for your buck - you could order the cheapest thing on the menu and then hit up the unlimited salad bar. The last time I was in a Ponderosa was in Niagara Falls in the mid 1980's and by that time in addition to the salad bar they also had an unlimited dessert bar. For some reason, in a box of junk I've carted from place to place over the years I still have a Ponderosa cardboard bank in the shape of the original green design
You know
As a child growing up, trips to Ponderosa with the family were a special time. As my father worked a lot, we didn’t really dine out as a family all that often. Ponderosa felt to me a step above fast food. It appealed to me because we were a blue collar family and I don’t think I would’ve felt as comfortable in a “fancy” steakhouse. That wasn’t our world. Yes, I wish Ponderosa was still around. I’m 54 now, and I still like Westerns.
As a kid in the mid-to-late 80's, both Ponderosa and Bonanza were a staple for our family. Several nearby larger towns had one, or both. So, when we would make one of our frequent weekend day trips to one of these towns, we'd almost always hit Ponderosa or Bonanza.
Eventually, my hometown got its own Ponderosa, and we ate there nearly weekly. I just checked, and the building is a doctor's office, now.
I have eaten at both easily hundreds of times, and I don't think anyone in my family ever got a steak there. We always got the "salad" bar, in quotes because it features so much non-salad stuff (the fried chicken was solid, IME).
We could eat a "nice" family meal for a (presumably) low price, and everybody got what they wanted with no complaining.
When the last Bonanza in the metro where I currently live recently announced it's closing, I said, "oh, man, that sucks!" My wife suggested that we go there before it closed.
That's when I realized that I'd lived less than a mile from a Bonanza for over 12 years, and never had the urge to eat there as an adult.
We went to Bennigan's, instead (yes, my neighborhood has a functioning Bennigan's, and we go there all the time, and it's excellent!).
Well, at least Puerto Rico still has Ponderosa Steakhouse. Still popular too.
I also think them expanding to breakfast in Puerto Rico really help them greatly. That buffet breakfast of their is great treat from time to time in all honesty.
Even so I have seen quite a few of them closed down sadly and in all honesty they do need an overhaul in decoration and interior.
Wait really? I guess there just weren't any on my side of the island, or maybe I have been there, who knows but this is news to me for sure.
Todavía voy al de Mayagüez cuando visito a mis padres.
Jon is correct, also we still have a few Bonanzas and a good amount of sizzlers. But currently we are getting the expansion of Golden Corral who are gonna build their 3rd store this year.
I also used to go a lot to the one in Mayagüez until I moved. My dad told me it’s still there.
LOVED PONDEROSA! My family and I went there EVERY Sunday evening! Thanks for bringing back GREAT memories! Got home right in time for my Sunday Nickelodeon shows, Mystery Files Of Shelby Woo, and The Journey Of Allen Strange! I remember TWO locations here in Western New York. Furthermore, LOVED their broccoli soup! Plus their chicken wings!
We used to take our kids there on Sundays after church. All six of us could eat for $35. And you didn’t need to buy a steak dinner. They had plenty of meat on the buffet and their spicy wings were absolutely phenomenal. I have never found another place that had them like that. You could buy a bag of 50 for $10. We would often buy that and take it home. My middle daughter used to get a pile of cheese, black olives, and sour cream. That was her dinner and she was perfectly happy with it.
We had a Ponerosa here in Central Massachusetts about 15 miles from where I lived ... used to go there almost 40 years ago in my teens and early 20s ... always enjoyed it there !!
OMG! I have such fond memories of Ponderosa. My Dad brought me here for my birthday when I turned 8 where I made my first salad by myself. I WAS SO PROUD. There is only one left in my state but it just isn't the same. Thanks for posting this.❤
Excellent video. A little about me, I am one of the last existing 16 Ponderosas in the USA (19 international) and of the five left in Michigan (Ludington) been in business since 1996. Asher Edelman was a corporate raider, buying undervalued (stock price) companies and selling off assets, in Ponderosas case artworks and more importantly real estate (company stores). Then writing high priced leases, as the leases expired the real estate was worth more for other business thus closed and sold. Prepandemic there were 70.
If you had the browser extension Coincidence Detector, you'd understand why you'd see him as a raider.
Thanks for keeping them open! Im too far to patronize and support your location, but I still very much enjoy the food and hope they dont go away!
Yup pandemic killed off the Gaylord MI Pondo once and for all. I need to get down to Ludington or Clare just to eat at ponderosa again.
The building up in Gaylord was a pot shop after the ponderosa closed, now it's empty and I heard a rumor that it might become the restaurant again. Fingers crossed
If you don't mind me asking, how are you guys holding up? Having a Ponderosa that is even still open seems pretty miraculous in itself, so what are your marketing strategies or are you guys basically treading water under your customer base dies off? Do you get young people or young families in there a lot?
I only ask because the one that was where I used to live had a deal where the youngest of my two kids was $1.99 and then my son would eat on, 'Kids Eat Free,' on Tuesdays because I was buying a burger combo (+buffet) at menu. The check was literally $13-something. I figured they were probably losing $5 on us. The staff did well because I tipped 100% because, why the hell not?
I just figure that being cheaper than both McDonald's and going to the grocery store to buy stuff to make dinner can't possibly be sustainable.
They used to be open late morning in Greentree PA, and no one was there but me.
I did my homework in a booth and only ordered coffee and left a tip several days a week.
I just ate at Ponderosa yesterday, located in Ludington Michigan. They still have a good buffet with fresh food and a wide selection. I sat down with my first plate around 5:30pm and it was pretty busy by 6pm. Their buffet is almost $21 now, so you really need to come HUNGRY to get your money's worth.
I'd imagine! There's not a bowl of vanilla soft-serve's chance in Hell that I'm paying $21 to eat at a Ponderosa. For one person? I can eat at Houlihan's for that.
This brings back my entire childhood. Our local spot in Festus, Mo. began as a Bonanza and then became a Ponderosa. My family would go almost every Friday night (alternating with the Shoney’s next door). The owners always recognized us and I’d get an extra discount as a kid. Several of my friends worked there as servers when I was in high school. Thank you for covering this!! So many good memories, never to be relived.
Small world.. used to go to Farmington's all the time!
My favorite one was the Arnold location. It stuck around until about 2020. Now it's a Westley Rogers. They didn't really change anything other than the name, so it still feels like a classic Ponderosa inside.
Bonanza was my dad's favorite tv show. Every Sunday night he was in his easy chair, feet up, watching that show. Couldn't talk to him till the show was over. During commercials he'd get up and get a snack. Childhood memories are sometimes the greatest!!
My dad was like that with Gunsmoke.
Pernell Roberts thought the show was beneath him.
I ate at the Ponderosa in Claire, Michigan last year. Had a good salad and Mexican themed bar along with some seafood (fried shrimp, clams, fish & baked fish). Plus some pastas and veggies and deserts. Didn't get steak since I was just there for lunch on my way up to Traverse City. It was actually a good meal and brought back memories of going there as a kid. I hope they stay open. I'd be happy to stop there again the next time I pass by. Claire is a nice town with an Amish presence so you see horse buggies riding around the roads along with cars. Very cool retro experience between the Ponderosa and the area in general.
A bar, you say? Probably key to that location's survival. The margins on alcohol are excellent.
Thanks so much for covering this. Sundays after church my family would go to Ponderosa and I often wondered what happened. It was a sweet childhood memory.
At the 1:45 mark, that store location was in Carol Stream, Illinois (you can tell by the antenna in the background). Wife and I would go there every Tuesday when they had the "special". Was later converted to a "Village Tavern".
That's probably the one we went to when we were kids!😊
It's definitely one of the ones I went to. I'm not positive, but I believe that particular location was one of the Bonanza ones that was converted to a Ponderosa. Funny that they mentioned Sizzler in the video as well, as there was one built right across the street at one time. Sadly both are gone. As for the Village, typical bar and grill food, no thanks! You folks from the area probably remember the Hamlet as well...
@@derekwebb5427 Ah yes, the Hamlet. My company would host our annual Christmas / Awards banquet there. Alot has changed in the area.
I was a “Dish Sterilizer” at Ponderosa in the 1970s………one of my best jobs ever; one day, I cleaned the top of the metal dish sterilizer machine, which was so hot that I could cook steaks on top of it, and secretly did, and, combined with the walk-in cooler next to me, I heartily grazed on salads and steaks all during my shifts, hidden in plain sight. What lovely times. The Waitresses adored my clandestine cooking, and their gratitude added to the fun, I can assure you. 🍸
I had a friend who was a waitress at a Howard Johnson's. On her days off she'd pester me to go with her up to where she worked . The chefs (cooks) would make fabulous things that weren't on the menu then. (Waffle fries with cheese,grilled muffins) Just for us. It's nice when you know the cook.
I washed dishes for 6 months at a Ponderosa in 1990 as a high schooler, then got moved onto the floor. I have spent the better part of my life working in kitchens since then and am a professional chef today. But that dishpit in 1990 was the most advanced pit I've ever worked with since! Everything was designed so well, and the whole room was tile so at the end of the night we could just hose everything down (walls, floors) and mop it all down the drain. I've worked in a lot of kitchens since then and have never seen a dish pit come anywhere close to how well planned out and easy to use that ponderosa pit was.
@@wvman2374 I would love a mini version of that for my house 🙂👍
Oh the most fun was in the back! The occasional sprayer fights between us in the dish pit and the girls in the salad room. Never seeing the line cooks NOT high yet to this day never meeting anyone who could manage and assemble that many orders that fast. The shared hatred of the leather tie and that STUPID HAT. Drawing the short straw and having to mow the grass. And abusing the ever-living heck out of the words "all you can eat" because piecing together the $1.99 for lunch was hard enough and you were gonna get your money's worth.
As a kid in the 70s our parents were slow to take us out to eat. My siblings were teens and I was 10 or 11 when they finally did, and it was to the Ponderosa. It was awesome!
I miss Ponderosa and believe a lot of others do too. I remember my grandmother always ordered the minced steak dinner. She had false teeth and found it was easier to eat than regular steak. I remember the baked potatoes were pretty good. It was a busy place back in the 70's and 80's. I haven't heard of any still open in the province of Ontario.
In West Mifflin Pittsburgh, there was a Hoss's Steakhouse, a Ponderosa, and an Old Country Buffett all within walking distance of each other along Rt.51. My parents loved both Ponderosa and especially Old Country. The Old Country there wasn't as good as the one in Robinson, so going there was a treat since it was a bit more expensive. Hoss's was more expensive as well since it was a traditional Steak House, but we'd go there from time to time. The tacos are the only thing I can remember and they where amazing! lol. It was a great time and I still lament the days of Ponderosa
It's a shame how West Mifflin has gone a bit downhill, in general. It's still a pretty nice place in most parts. I can't think of the name, but there's a bar/restaurant (independent---also, Elliott's, maybe?) on 51 that I thought was pretty good. There's also another bar/restaurant near that little airport that I also can't remember the name of that has some pretty outstanding appetizers; I think my fiancee and I just got like four appetizers and split them because we couldn't pick just one, so we said, "Who needs entrees?"
Damn shame about Century III Mall, but its story is no different than that of so many fully interior malls around the country. You guys still have that movie theater which is pretty nice; we went down there for the second Downton Abbey movie.
By the way, is that Red Lobster still open? I think that's the worst Red Lobster I've ever been to...which is kind of impressive in a way because that's a high bar.
In the late 70's, early 80's a Friday night dinner at Ponderosa's was considered a treat! I loved their bread...
The 80s and 90s were tough financially for my parents, but we would occasionally have enough money to go out to dinner at Ponderosa. I can still remember the sounds of sizzling steaks, the lit up menu board, and the amazing salad bar. Those were the days.
Oh the memories went there as a small child was my favorite place to eat! Started working there when I was 15 and worked my way up to management! Met some amazing friends and am still in contact with them till this day! Also met my husband there been married 25 years! I worked there for 10 years and that’s when they closed my location. Did transfer to other locations but the inevitable of them closing was looming. I do have to say the location I worked at was amazingly clean. Oh the good ole days ! Lol
I grew up and still live in the city the first Ponderosa was opened, Kokomo, Indiana. It was one of my favorite places to go as a kid, and all the way up until they closed! Still miss it! Even been thinking of travelling all the way to Coldwater, Michigan just to eat at one again! Lol...
Side note: The building the original Ponderosa occupied is now an Indian restaurant called Zaika Indian Cuisine...
I'm so glad to see that someone posted that important information about the original building in Kokomo. I lived in Kokomo and Ponderosa was the place to go in the 70s. Great memories. People were proud of the fact that such a great place started in our city. Originally they had picnic style tables to sit on then switched to tables and chairs. When they remodeled, I purchased several tables and chairs and several of the wall hangings. I still have a table and chair and some wall hangings adorn my western decor in my family room.
Thanks to my fellow Kokomoan for posting that interesting information. 😊
I drive past the one in Scottsburg Indiana weekly.
It's run down, but the sign says something like we thank you for 40 years.
It's sad.
Ah, for the sheer joy of reminiscing, I found myself strolling into the Ponderosa Steakhouse nestled just beyond the realms of Walt Disney World in Central Florida. It was bustling, a symphony of activity, much akin to the memories etched in my mind from three decades past. Engaging in discourse with the guest experience manager, I was enlightened to discover that a staggering 85% of the establishment's revenue dances in from across the pond, courtesy of our dear friends on their yearly pilgrimage from the UK. And the rest? Well, they hail mainly from the neighboring Westgate Timeshare Resort. Truly, it's a marvel to behold.
Yes that would’ve been me as a kid with my parents. On vacation in Orlando & visiting the Ponderosa near the hotel on International Drive. We had nothing like that in the UK when I was a kid in the 90s.
Me n my gf went to one in kissimmee off us 192....wasn't dead...ppl were there....good meatloaf tho..
I miss ponderosa AND old country buffet... ill always hold onto those memories of my family and I going... being the youngest brother of 3 older siblings, it was a real event to gather the family and go to these places..
The dingy low lit atmosphere, the mediocre food, the semi-sanitary conditions.. all of it was perfect, and just how it should be.
Never got sick; it was fine. The ice cream machines at old country buffet!!! The jello and other desert cakes from ponderosa... loved all of it.
Great times, fond memories.
When I lived in York, PA in the mid 1990's, we had an OCB just up the road. It was absolutely wonderful. Everything was hot, fresh and delicious. It truly spoiled me because after that no other buffet ever lived up to that standard.
We went to Ponderosa a handful of times as a kid/teen in the late '80's & early '90's. We had a few in Ontario, Canada, & we would sometimes stop at a Ponderosa on family road-trips in the US. They were starting to disappear already, though.
Years after I thought they had all disappeared from Canada, a few friends & I found one in Niagara Falls on a road trip in the early 2000's. We descended like locusts on the buffet, and no one blinked an eye at a pack of Goths amidst all the families. It was great.
My parents used to go to that one in the 80s! I know it lasted after a lot of others had closed. I believe it’s gone now too, unfortunately.
I remember going with friends to one on the outskirts of Halifax NS in full hardcore gear. Mohawks, spikes, steel capped boots and just chowing down amid the glares and stares. Hilarious.
i'm glad you led with the soft serve ice cream because i only remember going to ponderosa once and i was young enough that the one thing i remember about it is the soft serve ice cream...it closed sometime in the late 00's/early 10's and had been abandoned ever since - they finally tore down the building at some point but the property still hasnt been bought
The first Ponderosa was in Kokomo, IN. Another restaurant they opened was called Scotty’s Sandwich Junction only in Kokomo. It was just like McD’s even called their sandwiches things like The Big Scott, and 3as great fast food. The original building is still there, but it is an Indian restaurant now.
I still remember my last trip to Ponderosa! I loved the toy bag when I was a little kid ❤
What is this place?
@@Based_Gigachad_001buffet
I was happy when Mom let me get the pudding with the little whipped cream on top 😊
@@Based_Gigachad_001 it was a buffet, like a scaled down Golden Corral with a better reputation. I mostly remember there was a velvet bag with small toys inside they’d bring to the table for kids, I only went once as an adult but it wasn’t bad!
@@jessicaseyfried7888 Those were so good 😭
Brings back good memories.
Ponderosa was where one of my sister’s wedding rehearsal dinners was held.
I ordered a chop steak with onions.
It didn’t taste right, and my dad said it smelled. He took it back and asked for another. The second one he said smelled rotten, so he calmly went up to the manager and asked his opinion. Sure enough, all of those steaks were rotten.
The man really was embarrassed and very concerned to stop selling those.
I think dad got me a sirloin which turned out good. Then he gave dad some money back seeing as though we had such a large party.
Bonanza was my favorite. My uncle developed type 2 diabetes and was very cautious about his diet. He always told me that he could get a balanced meal at Bonanza, so we ate there often
In the history of Ponderosa, not a single balanced meal was ever served.
My dad used to take us to ponderosa steakhouse when I was in 4th grade. I loved it. Still have one within 10 minutes of my workplace. I ate the buffet there frequently
Growing up in the 90s and early 2000's I used to go to Ponderosa all the time. The location in my hometown sadly closed around 2003. The last remaining one in Northwest Indiana closed in 2017. So many great memories going there and the restaurant is truly missed by myself and my family.
I miss this, Sizzler and other steakhouse buffets. They had a taco bar, sundae bar, salad bar and the steaks were equal to other steakhouses. Golden Corral is so so and I don't like Asian buffets but Ponderosa and similar ones will always hold a special place in my heart.
Shoneys breakfast buffet is unmatched!
There's still a Sizzler in the town I live in. It still holds up pretty well, surprisingly. Too bad the same can't be said for Ponderosa.
@@aquablaster86 You’re not wrong. I miss those joints.
@@JakeLovesSteak-they still have a Sizzler in Waikiki, Hawaii.
@@aquablaster86-ugh…. When Shoney’s was good that is. The poor management over the years? A lot of Food Service Handlinh Classes showed 90% of Shoneys employees gross handling of the salad buffets bars, with pubic hairs, grabbing of salad off the floor, and putting it back on the bar.
Lots and lots of employees not caring about safe handling of all the food? Including in the freezer fridge to- out dated foods…. Etc…. Why do you think? It is a vanishing thing?
We still have Ponderosa here in Puerto Rico and it’s still a popular place to go
En donde? Me acuerdo que habia uno en Plaza Las Americas a finales de los 80’s.
@@defectivemonk3884 mayaguez
Its in the first level of Sears. Yes, Sears. Yes it is March 2024.
We have one where I live and I take my mother and kids there all the time. My mother loves buffets, my children love every moment they get with their grandmother, and I enjoy the nostalgia and seeing children enjoy something I loved as a kid. It is so special❤
Growing up lower class, we did not go out much, but once every few months my parents would take us to a ponderosa next to a movie theater and it was some of the best times of my childhood!
My family used to visit Ponderosa, and the chopped steak was my favorite. With A1 sauce! I did not realize until years later that this was essentially a hamburger.... I did not care, though. It did help cement my love of A1's richness and tanginess.
Hamburger on plate loaded with A1, that's comfort food right there!
I grew up with the same menu choice! My mom and dad got the steaks and us 4 kids got the chopped steak. I didn’t think twice about it until I was much older and had to support my own family. Then I understood why we only went out to eat once or twice a month. But, I enjoyed the treat and knew my parents worked hard to provide that experience for me.
if you gotta put A1 on steak, that steak is just shit. you should never have to dip steak in a fucking sauce
A1 sauce? Bro.....
I learned to love A1 sauce as a young kid in the 60s. The only place we went for a sit down dinner then was this old school cafeteria. Of course, kids meals weren't around then so Mom just got an extra plate and put part of hers on it for me. She always got pot roast, and I got her to let me put A1 on it. She told me I wouldn't like it but I did. Use it all the time but alternate with Heinz 57 but only on cheap meats and never on good steak!
I loved Ponderosa when I was a kid back in the late 70's in Maryland. After my parents divorced my Mother would take us when it was her turn to have us for the weekend. The steak with buttered mushrooms was my favorite.
My momma took me to the one on Rockville Pike just about every Thursday evening. My dad always seemed to work the late shift on Thursdays. He was an assistant manager for Giant Food. Always loved Ponderosa. 👍🇺🇸
My parents used to take us kids to Ponderosa and/or Bonanza back in the 70s and 80s, in the Omaha area. I recall thinking it was kinda strange that they were both based on the same tv show, and both seemed quite similar, but we all loved going there. Good memories!
The nearest mall to where I grew up had both a Ponderosa and a Bonanza; this was in the late 90's. Can you imagine my shock when I discovered that they had the same parent company? I've heard of self-competing before, but Jesus!
Nothing better than Company Man being uploaded as i open youtube
My local (northcentral IL) Ponderosa was a regular destination for my family about once every two weeks throughout the 1980's. It was good food, a salad bar, and low prices every time. It was always well-populated and I'd see friends and teachers I new there. Then around the early 90's it just pooped out. They always did good business, but a bunch more chains came in and siphoned the diners away.
Ponderosa was a weekly event for my family in the 80's and early 90's. I have fond memories of going there with my family; we'd go often and I remember the food being really good. A few years ago I found one still standing while driving through Wisconsin, so I decided to stop. Whats left is a shell of it's former self. The food was not good. The buffet was laughably small and the prices weren't that great either. It was sadly disappointing. I do think their decline in quality also contributed to their overall decline over the years.
goodness did me and my family love Ponderosa...and yes i totally geeked out over the ice cream. This was the pinnacle of going out to eat as a kid as we NEVER went out to eat.
My best friend's first job was at a Ponderosa doing dishes. I walked in and sat down and asked for him to be my waiter. The asshole comes out of the kitchen where he was doing dishes - and wearing giant dish washing gloves and raggedy ass clothes with food stains from all the dish washing he looks at me point blank: "Can I have your order, Cur?" Cheeky bastard but still fun as hell. A few years later they would have a fire in the back and afterward that Ponderosa never got back on its feet and was eventually closed down.
My first job was as a dishwasher at Ponderosa. It was the worst job I've ever had. Every person used about 8 plates and it was always busy.
Ponderosa has been an important part of my childhood and even today. I went to a location last month to celebrate my grandfather's birthday. There are like 2 or 3 locations left in Puerto Rico.
There are at least 4.
This video hit me with so much nostalgia, I grew up going to Bonanza and Ponderosa nearly every weekend with my parents and grandparents
I grew up in 1970s working class family in Akron Ohio. Going to the Ponderosa at Akron square, near the corner of Arlington St and Waterloo Rd, was a big treat for us!
That’s where we used to go in the 70s and 80s , just drove by an empty one on Main Street by st Thomas hospital the other day and don’t ever remember that one .
I used to go to the one in between Alliance and Canton.
This one hits hard. My mom still misses it and also my wife. Here in PR we had 5 or 6, now there's only one. I had one just 5 minutes or less from my current home. Always had a great time there🙏🏾.
At least PR still has Church’s! Chicken!!!
Other people commented from PR. I never would have expected it to be such a hit down there.
@@cactiguide they have survived most Mainland US locations, they also used to be a couple of Bonanzas too, but now just one! I used to live by a Ponderosa (like, walking distance) and my mom used to take my sister and I there almost every saturday for breakfast. Their breakfast buffet was INSANE!
I don’t think I’d ever heard of Ponderosa (I’m not even sure why I clicked this to be honest, haha), but hearing Steak & Ale mentioned in this video made me sad, because that was my grandparents’ favorite restaurant. I never liked it as a kid-I was too young to appreciate it-but this brought back memories of what felt like an absolutely gigantic place with huge tables that my family all sat at together (while I ate nothing but a plate of croutons, haha). I know it’s a random thing to bring up given it was only briefly mentioned in the video, but I’m glad for the sudden memories.
As a kid, my Grandparents would take us to Ponderosa a couple times a month. I remember the steaks (even if “cheap”) being tender and delicious. They used some sort of marinade that I thought was delicious, and they had an amazing salad bar. There were some Bonanzas around, but the flavor/quality wasn’t even close (at least to my 9-year-old’s palate :)
Guess they couldn’t raise the steaks.
I saw one recently when I went to Puerto Rico and I totally geeked out on it
I do miss Ponderosa. We had that and Dennys in my hometown. Was always great to go back in grade school with the family and even better in high school with friends. Those two, now closed, places were a big part of childhood
I'm Canadian and yes, I used to eat at Ponderosa when I was a little kid with my parents in the early '80s. It's one of my most memorable childhood memories actually. I remember the salad bar mostly. Ponderosa didn't last long in Canada; by the mid '80s it was gone. I remember my experience eating there fondly though.
Having grown up through this, another factor could be the rise of the mid-tier steakhouse. In terms of chains. High end steakhouses priced out working folks, but there was a big gap between high end and Ponderosa/Sizzler.
Back in the day, it seemed there were Sizzlers and Ponderosas everywhere I grew up. Anecdotally, it also seems their decline corresponded with the rise of the mid-tier steakhouse - Outback and Longhorn and Texas Roadhouse. Much better product, for not a whole lot more. Turn back the clock to 2000 prices - could get a $10 sirloin at Outback or the $6 one at Ponderosa?
I do my own steaks now, but fond memories of the family meals eating out.
Sometimes the syndicated rerun tv shows would change the name like that, so people didn’t get confused that it was a rerun and not the brand-new weekly shows. I remember they called the reruns “Happy Days Again” for a time in the early 80s. I didn’t know they did that for “Bonanza” and called the reruns “Ponderosa”.
My only ponderosa memory: when I was 17, we moved to Michigan and went to this ponderosa buffet. It was not good. Food wasn't kept well, outdated furnishing, and not enough choices. About a month later, the location was closed and inevitably was demolished and rebuilt into a Panera bread - which is thriving.
Ponderosa was never intended to be good; it was intended to be cheap.
My family in the 70s and 80s loved Ponderosa. We loved the baked potato bar and sirloin tips. It was our weekend place. We didn't have a Bonanza in our town. I would love to see Pondarosa again. Nostalgia
Once on a road trip with a buddy we picked up one of those silly fake-newspapers like National Enquirer. In it there was an article about a sighting of the ghost of Dan Blocker (Hoss). The huge headline read “DAN BLOCKER SHOCKER!” That was so hilarious we nearly ran off the road laughing. Still crack up when I think about it.
I read that comment in Hank Hill's voice. Boy I tell you hhwhat.
The Ponderosa in Washington, Missouri, was my first job as a dishwasher. It's been closed for a couple of years now. I miss it all the time.
I took my then young family there most Sundays 1999-2003 till my company transferred me to SC. We lived over near the Animal Shelter in Union.
@Ekkis25 That's crazy. Yeah, it was good for a long time. I had been going there with my family my entire life, so it only makes sense to get hired when I turned 16. Mothers Day was a nightmare 🤣.
The building is currently a hibachi restaurant. 😩
I worked in Olivette all the way in town, but we lived in Villa Ridge and my kids were born in Washington, we moved to Union but still ate and shopped in Washington@@ThatJakeGuy99
Ponderosa was my childhood in the 1990s. It was such a treat to go there and get the buffet as a child. The tacos and chicken wings were amazing along with the salad bar.
We had a Ponderosa up here in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. It was converted into an Applebee's. I used to love going to the Ponderosa when I was going to college in Belleville. Also, there's a Bonanza restaurant in a small town outside of Ottawa but I don't think it has any affiliation to the chain. It's still up and running and many of us have fond memories of going to the Bonanza as kids back in the nineties.
Both Ponderosa and Steak n Ale are part of my childhood growing up in St. Louis county. I loved going there for steak and baked potato. Once I went away to college, though, I never tooked back. These days I would never think of taking the family to Sizzler or Hometown buffet. We can get great steaks at home from the Traeger, so I think the bargain steakhouse is a blast from the past.
I worked at Ponderosa in the summer of 1998. I was a cashier and had to clean the soft serve ice cream station. I will never forget a very strange family (all adults) that would come in all the time. They were very overweight and didn't look like they had very good hygiene. They definitely didn't have a lot of money. They would come in for the lunch buffet, hang out all day eating and wait for the dinner buffet to come out and do the same thing. I think they figured they wouldn't have to pay for the dinner buffet separately. They would also try to sneak whatever food they could out of the restaurant. The mother had a walker and would stuff whatever food she could into plastic grocery bags that she would hang on the walker. Really weird people.
Sounds like some of the people that go to Golden Corrals today….
There is a restaurant near me in COLDWATER Michigan. And I remember during the blizzard of 1978 we got snowed in on the Indiana turnpike and a truck driver for ponderosa and we and other truck drivers lived on steaks for 6 days.
I remember when I was about 10 years old in 1974 this was the first restaurant I ever saw with free soft drink refills, and I remember being BLOWN AWAY. I love pop, and I remember my mind immediately hatched a scheme to install a large tank in my dad‘s trunk then endlessly refill my drink and run outside to the parking lot to fill up the tank.
Still have 3 ponderosas within 30 minutes of my house, I do feel like the quality has improved over the last 6 or 7 years and all 3 have been remodeled within the last 5 years
Where?
@@amberveys716 I feel like that could only describe Michigan.
Such good memories here as a kid. Everyone called it "Pondagrossa", I really used to like it though. We'd be able to sit down and get a really good affordable meal. Also saw that pinned comment calling into question your validity, people are mean. Keep on creating and doing your thing. People think they're offering critique when they're actually just being mean for no reason.
Yes we all called it too Pondagrossa, haha!
I remember people calling it Kindagrosa
Ponderosa was a Dayton, Ohio company and I worked in the Finance department for 11 years until Metromedia moved the headquarters to Dallas, TX and consolidated management with that of Steak & Ale’s. You failed to mention the President of Ponderosa, Jerry Office, that received a golden parachute deal when corporate raider, Asher Eldeman, bought them. Jerry Office was the one that ran the business into the ground by treating the business as his personal cash cow. Updating his personal residence with lavish furnishings, high tech security systems, luxury businesses trips, etc. Once Metromedia purchased Ponderosa, it became clear the business was doomed. They brought in a bunch of Ivy League business people from New York City that had no idea on how to run a large corporation and how to relate to the midwestern lifestyle. Finally, Ponderosa’s grand buffet, which was the real attraction, was no longer special once everyone started introducing salad bars at places like Wendy’s and grocery stores.
This is the part of the story that he left out. But Ponderosa was started in Kokomo, Indiana in 1965 and did not move to Dayton, Ohio until 1971 when a group of investors bought into the company. And you are correct, Jerry Office was the demise of the company. BTW, my dad was Charles Kleptz, one of the founders. ❤
In the 90s my family and I were regular visitors to Ponderosa. Then, after two separate instances where we found the plates and cutlery for the buffet covered in dirty water, my mother put her foot down and refused to let us eat there ever again.
Still, they had damn good banana bread.