Ground Round
Company type | Casual dining restaurant |
---|---|
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | October 25, 1969 |
Website | https://www.mygroundround.com |
Ground Round Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant that was founded in 1969 in Massachusetts[1] by Howard Johnson's.[2][3] Since January 17, 2010, Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative, LLC—a group originally formed of 30 franchisee owners, which is based in Freeport, Maine—became the owner of Ground Round.[4]
During the 1970s and 1980s, Ground Round was well known for its children's parties, showing silent movies and cartoons on a big screen, a mascot named Bingo the Clown, and for passing out whole peanuts where consumers were not discouraged from dropping the shells on the floor.[5] At its peak, the chain had over 200 restaurant locations.[6]
On February 13, 2004 the franchisor for Ground Round filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the process, all 69 corporate-owned restaurants, almost half of the Ground Rounds then open, abruptly closed their doors.[7] A group of franchisees joined together in order to buy out the company and started the Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative, LLC.[8] As of February 2024, the company operates two locations in North Dakota.
References
- ^ Cahn, Lauren (2022-04-25). "The Untold Truth Of Ground Round". Mashed. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
- ^ Grant, Tina (1997). International Directory of Company Histories. ISBN 9781558623514.
- ^ "Welcome to New Jersey's last Ground Round". NJ.com. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
- ^ MRM Staff (2017-06-23). "MRM Franchise Feed: White Castle Weddings, Ground Round Growing and KFC in Space". Modern Restaurant Management. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
- ^ "It's 1981 all over again: Ground Round is back". OnMilwaukee.com. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
- ^ "All Size Appetites".
- ^ The Ground Round Rebound, Fortune Small Business, February 1, 2005
- ^ Daley, Jason (2012-05-29). "How Ground Round, Sizzler and Bennigan's Bounced Back from Bankruptcy". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2017-10-03.