Furr's

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 1946 in Hobbs, New Mexico. For many decades Furr's was known for cafeteria-style dining, but has since redeveloped into buffet-style dining.

Furr's
Subsidiary
IndustryFood
Founded1946 (1946)
Headquarters
San Antonio, Texas
,
U.S.
ParentIndependent (1946–1980 and 2000–2003)
Kmart (1980–1988)
Limited National Partnership (1988–2000)
CIC-Buffet Partners (2003–2014)
Food Management Partners (2014–present)
Websitefurrs.net
Furr's sign after demolition of the last Colorado location

As of December 2018, there were twenty-one Furr's Fresh Buffets located throughout Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.[1]

History

In 1946, brothers Roy and Key Furr founded the first Furr's restaurant, opened in Hobbs in southeastern 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] In December 2002, Furr's closed its two locations in Las Vegas as part of a corporate downsizing plan to close 11 under-performing restaurants across the United States by the end of the year.[5][6] The company reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2003.[7] Shortly afterward, the company was sold to a private investment firm, CIC-Buffet Partners, an affiliate of Cardinal Investment Co.[8]

In January 2014, Furr's closed several locations, including Las Cruces, New Mexico,[9] Big Spring, Texas,[10] Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and Wichita, Kansas.[11] "We are closed for business," says assistant general manager Tim Arnoldussen. "It’s just a corporate decision."[12]

In June 2014, Furr's Fresh Buffet was sold to a San Antonio company (Food Management Partners), which planned to begin opening new sites.[13] The following year, the parent company of Furr's acquired Ovation Brands.

In April 2019, a Furr's location closed unexpectedly in Plainview, Texas.[14]

On August 26, 2019, another Furr's location did the same in Lubbock across from the mall on Slide Road.

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. "Two Vegas cafeterias close". Las Vegas Sun. December 20, 2002. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  6. Smith, John L. (December 20, 2002). "Closure of Furr's cafeterias leaves longtime workers, clientele in the lurch". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on March 20, 2005.
  7. "Furr's files reorganization plan". Dallas Business Journal. April 4, 2003. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
  8. "Furr's Restaurant Group to sell 54 restaurants". Amarillo Globe-News. 2003-07-15. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  9. Stockberger, Brook. "Furr's Fresh Buffet in Las Cruces closes". Sun-News report. The Las Cruces Sun-News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  10. "Furr's in Big Spring to be Demolished, New Businesses Coming". Staff Report/Mike Henry/KBYG. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  11. Calhoun, Patricia. "Furr's could be gone for good from Colorado". Denver Westword, LLC.
  12. 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. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  13. "Furr's Fresh Buffet sold to San Antonio company". Dallas News. June 2014. Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  14. "Furr's in Plainview Closes Unexpectedly". KFYO (AM). April 15, 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
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