Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse under the Metromedia Restaurant Group. The names of the restaurants were derived from the classic TV series "Bonanza", which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch. 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, when the Wylys sold it to Metromedia. In 1965, Dan Lasater, Norm Wiese and Charles Kleptz founded Ponderosa in Kokomo, Indiana, moving the headquarters to
The Lord's Ranch The Lord's Ranch The Lord's Ranch is the name of an outreach ministry located in Vado, New Mexico, United States, that ministers heavily to the poor in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The ranch was founded by Father Rick Thomas who was moved on Christmas Day of 1972 to bring food to the poor people of Cd. Juárez. His inspiration came from Scripture, Luke 14:13, "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind." Thomas reported that he and a couple dozen others brought enough food for about 160 people, but in the end