Furr's

Furr's sign after demolition of the last Colorado location.

Furr's (also known as Furr's Cafeteria, Furr's Family Dining or Furr's Fresh Buffet) is a chain of family restaurants in the United States started by Roy Furr. The first location opened in Hobbs, New Mexico, in 1946. For many decades Furr's was known for cafeteria-style dining, but has since redeveloped into buffet-style dining.

As of January 2016, there are 25 Furr's Fresh Buffets located throughout Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma.[1]

History

In 1946, brothers Roy and Key Furr founded the first Furr’s restaurant opened in Hobbs, New Mexico. A second location was opened in Odessa, Texas in 1947.

Furr's was purchased by the Kmart Corp. in 1980,[2] and subsequently sold by Kmart to Michael Levenson's Limited National Partnership in 1988. .

In 1998 its corporate history is notable for having its board of directors ousted by an institutional investor TIAA-CREF.[3]

In 2000 the company established a new name, Furr's Restaurant Group.[4] The company reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2003.[5] Shortly afterward, the company was sold to a private investment firm, CIC-Buffet Partners, an affiliate of Cardinal Investment Co.[6]

In January 2014 Furr's closed several locations, including Las Cruces, New Mexico,[7] Big Spring, Texas, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and Wichita, Kansas.[8] "We are closed for business," says assistant general manager Tim Arnoldussen. "It’s just a corporate decision."[9]

In June 2014, Furr's Fresh Buffet was sold to a San Antonio company (Food Management Partners) who planned to begin opening new sites within 6-9 months. [10]

References

  1. http://www.furrs.net/locations/ Furr's Fresh Buffet locations
  2. Yoshihara, Nancy (January 28, 1985). "K mart Breaks Away From Its Pattern of 1960s". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  3. http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/WTC/TIAA-CREF.html
  4. "Furr's Restaurant Group, Inc". IGHRM. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  5. "Furr's files reorganization plan". Dallas Business Journal. April 4, 2003. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  6. "Furr's Restaurant Group to sell 54 restaurants". Amarillo Globe-News. 2003-07-15. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  7. Stockberger, Brook. "Furr's Fresh Buffet in Las Cruces closes". Sun-News report. The Las Cruces Sun-News. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  8. Calhoun, Patricia. "Furr's could be gone for good from Colorado". Denver Westword, LLC.
  9. Rengers, Carrie. "Last Furr’s Family Dining restaurant closes WICHITA — The last remaining Furr’s Family Dining restaurant in Wichita has closed.". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  10. http://www.dallasnews.com/business/restaurants-hotels/20140623-furrs-fresh-buffet-sold-to-san-antonio-company.ece

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.