Ponderosa Steakhouse and Bonanza Steakhouse are a chain of buffet/steakhouse restaurants. Unlike other chains with two names like Checkers and Rally's, which uses only one of the names in a given region, restaurants in a given region could be named either Bonanza or Ponderosa. This is because Bonanza and Ponderosa were separate companies, which were later merged under the Metromedia Restaurant Group. The names of the restaurants are derived from the classic TV series Bonanza, which was set at a place called Ponderosa Ranch.