The Ground Round, a more than-50-year-old casual-dining chain once known for peanut shells on the floor and mascot Bingo the Clown, is making a comeback.
Joseph Shea and his wife Nachi Shea, who are first-time restaurateurs, have acquired the intellectual property rights to the brand and are planning to open a new location in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. The restaurant is under construction and Shea expects to open in January.
For Shea, it’s a move motivated by happy memories.
“My connection is going to the Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, location as a child and young teen,” he said in an email interview. “Like so many, I have the fondest memories of a place we loved to go for food and fun and that is something we are working diligently to bring back.”
Like legacy cbrands TGI Fridays, Houlihan’s and Bennigan’s, Ground Round was credited with helping to shape casual dining as we know it today.
It was founded in 1969 as a sister concept to highway haven Howard Johnson’s. The goal, according to Wikipedia, was to convert marginal Howard Johnson’s locations, and it later became an expansion brand.
When Howard Johnson’s was acquired by Marriott Corp. in 1985, Ground Round stayed with then-owner Imperial Group. The next year, Imperial was acquired by Hanson Group USA. And then, three years later, the restaurant chain was acquired again by International Proteins Corp.
At the time, Ground Round had about 215 locations, of which 178 were company owned. The concept had grown with a menu of American classics, and a kid-friendly atmosphere, with movies and cartoons playing on a big screen, and free shelled peanuts passed by Bingo the Clown. It was playful break-the-rules tradition to throw the peanut shells on the floor—though that tradition shifted to popcorn, as concerns about both peanut allergies and fire-code violations grew.
Soon, however, relative newcomers Chili’s and Applebee’s began stealing the Ground Round’s market share.
In 1997, the chain was acquired by Boston Ventures Management, and a brand relaunch was attempted with a slimmed down menu in 2000. But the chain had taken on too much debt and the company fell into default.
In February 2004—in Valentine’s Day weekend—all corporate owned locations were shuttered in the middle of the dinner rush and franchisor American Hospitality Concepts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Nation’s Restaurant News (a sister brand of Restaurant Business) at the time reported that the mass layoffs and hasty restaurant lockups, “catching scores of diners in the middle of unfinished meals,” were at a scale not seen in the industry at the time.
A co-op of franchisees later that year acquired the chain out of bankruptcy under the Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative LLC. By then, the chain had 71 units, with 64 owned by the co-op and another seven owned by franchisees.
Over the next two decades, the co-op attempted to return to growth. A new smaller, sports-themed variation was launched in 2013.
More recently, the franchise owners attempted a beer-centric concept, which was called GR Kitchen & Taps, in Waterloo, Iowa. It was paired with a Best Western Hotel. By then, the chain had shrunk to about 15 units.
Shea, meanwhile, had made several attempts to become a franchisee of the brand, without success, he said.
“One day, I received an email from the CFO saying that they are winding down operations and looking to sell all the trademarks and we worked out a deal,” he said.
Currently, there are three Ground Round locations in North Dakota and one in Ohio, which Shea described as licensed units, a result of the deal. For now, Shea is not planning to franchise, but he said he will be open to that in future.
What this new incarnation of Ground Round will look like is still being determined, he said.
“We will be blending beloved parts of the past with modern aspects, with the customer experience being at the forefront of all decisions,” said Shea.
There will be popcorn, for example. (But not peanuts.)
He plans to bring back some fan favorites to the menu, like the baby back ribs, fried cinnamon dippers, blackened chicken Alfredo, the taco salad in a tortilla bowl and the fried appetizers.
But, he noted, consumer tastes have changed over the years.
“We will also be engaging with the community to ask for what some of their favorite items and dishes were to make sure we listen to what our customers want,” he said.
Ground Round isn’t the only legacy restaurant chain attempting a revival. In recent years, Steak & Ale, Bennigan’s, Sweet Tomatoes, and the fast-casual Koo Koo Roo have made or are planning a second act.
At the same time, however, casual-dining peers TGI Fridays and Red Lobster have filed bankruptcy.
Shea said those chains became too large and the quality and experience suffered. “Places like that almost feel institutional, where you could go to a cafeteria and get the same experience,” he said.
Consumers today are looking for nostalgia, and that's what Shea plans to tap into.
“I see a desire to unlock warm feelings and memories of the past that so many shared at The Ground Round,” he said.
“We also are solely hyper focused on the Shrewsbury location with no plans for additional locations at this time," he added. "This allows us to get it right and create the vision we see for the brand going forward.”
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