Ground Round

This article is about the restaurant chain. For the food, see Round steak and Ground beef.
Ground Round Grill & Bar
Company typeCasual dining restaurant
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedOctober 25, 1969
Number of locations
4 (2024)

Ground Round Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain that was founded in 1969 in Massachusetts[1] by Howard Johnson's.[2] Originally intended as a secondary concept to upgrade poorly performing units of Howard Johnson's, it also operated on a standalone basis and became a major growth focus for Howard Johnson after the 1973 oil crisis hurt its other concepts. By 1985, when Ground Round was separated from Howard Johnson, it had 215 restaurants.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Ground Round suffered from an outdated image compared to other casual dining competitors such as Chili's and Applebee's, an overly large menu, and debt from multiple sales that diminished the chain's ability to invest in restaurant remodels and other initiatives. Boston Ventures Management acquired Ground Round in 1997 but struggled from delayed sales of corporate locations and a refranchising effort that left the company-owned stores underperforming franchised units.

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004, the chain closed some 60 corporate-owned locations. Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative, LLC—a group originally formed of franchise owners based in Freeport, Maine[3]—bought the chain out of bankruptcy, at which time it had 71 locations. The unit count has continued to dwindle since then, with just four locations in 2024, all in the Midwest.

  1. ^ Cahn, Lauren (April 25, 2022). "The Untold Truth Of Ground Round". Mashed. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Grant, Tina (1997). International Directory of Company Histories. St. James Press. ISBN 9781558623514. Archived from the original on May 1, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  3. ^ "MRM Franchise Feed: White Castle Weddings, Ground Round Growing and KFC in Space". Modern Restaurant Management. June 23, 2017. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 29, 2017.