http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/ponderosa-steakhouse-history/
excerpt/ The first Ponderosa Steak House was established in 1968 in Kokomo, Indiana, by Dan Lasater and Norm Wiese. Barely out of his teens, Lasater had a high school education and a couple of years’ experience managing McDonald’s restaurants. Wiese was an auto dealer who held a key piece of real estate near a highway interchange. The two had joined forces to launch their own hamburger chain, Scotty’s, but were inspired to enter the budget steak arena after learning of Bonanza’s success in the South.
Bonanza International had been founded in Dallas by the Wyly brothers, Sam and Charles, in 1963 and was beginning to develop a national presence. But instead of buying a Bonanza franchise, Wiese and Lasater worked with their own, albeit similar, concept, which they called Ponderosa. Both Ponderosa and Bonanza menus featured a limited selection of steaks served with baked potato,
My parents loved eating at those steak houses. When I was home we always went to one or the other. Great food.