Furr's Family Dining sign, Wheat Ridge, CO

Furr's (also known as Furr's Cafeteria, Furr's Family Dining, Furr's Fresh Buffet, and Furr's All-You-Can-Eat Marketplace) was a chain of family restaurants in the United States started by

Roy Furr Roy Furr (1907 — June 13, 1975) was the president of the Furr's chain of supermarkets and restaurants after his older brother Key Furr. Early life and education Furr was born in McKinney, Texas. As a boy he worked for his father C.W. Furr and br ...

. The first location opened in 1946 in

Hobbs, New Mexico Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, Lea County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 40,508 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, increasing from 34,122 in 2010. Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico microp ...

. For many decades, Furr's was known for cafeteria-style dining, but eventually redeveloped into buffet-style dining.

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 Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small section of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, mak ...

, in 1947. Furr's was purchased by the

Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inc ...

Corp. in 1980, 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 The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA, formerly TIAA-CREF), is a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, ...

. In 2000, the company established a new name, Furr's Restaurant Group. In December 2002, Furr's closed its two locations in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the 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. The company reorganized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2003. Shortly afterward, the company was sold to a private investment firm, CIC-Buffet Partners, an affiliate of Cardinal Investment Co. In January 2014, Furr's closed several locations, including

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern New ...

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 27,282 as of the 2010 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, A ...

Wheat Ridge, Colorado The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

, and

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. "We are closed for business," says assistant general manager Tim Arnoldussen. "It’s just a corporate decision." In June 2014, Furr's Fresh Buffet was sold to a San Antonio company (Food Management Partners), which planned to begin opening new sites. The following year, the parent company of Furr's acquired

Ovation Brands VitaNova Brands, based in San Antonio, Texas, was an operator of a number of American national buffet chain restaurants including subsidiary company Furr's. All of their Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan's Buffet, and Curry House locatio ...

. In April 2019, a Furr's location closed unexpectedly in Plainview, Texas. On August 26, 2019, another Furr's location did the same in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

across from the South Plains Mall. In April 2021, Furr's parent company Fresh Acquisitions LLC and Buffets LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and all Furr's were permanently closed.

References

{{Reflist 1946 establishments in New Mexico 2021 disestablishments in Texas Buffet restaurants Defunct companies based in Texas Companies based in San Antonio Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Lea County, New Mexico Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1946 Restaurants in New Mexico Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants disestablished in 2021