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

Roy Furr Roy Furr (1907 — June 13, 1975) was an American businessman. He 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 ...

. The first location opened in 1946 in

Hobbs, New Mexico Hobbs is a city in 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 micropolitan statistical area ...

. 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, which opened in Hobbs in southeastern New Mexico. A second location was opened in

Odessa, Texas Odessa () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, Ector County with portions extending into Midland County, Texas, Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, in 1947. Furr's was purchased by the

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

Corp. in 1980, and subsequently sold by Kmart to Michael Levenson's Limited National Partnership in 1988. In 1998, its corporate history was 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 an American financial services organization that is a private provider of financial retirement services in the academic, resea ...

. 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, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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 (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Route 87 in Texas, U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20 in Texas, Interstate 20. The population was 26,144 at the ...

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 List of cities in Kansas, most populous 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, ...

. "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. In April 2019, a Furr's location closed unexpectedly in

Plainview, Texas Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 20,187 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Plainview began when Z. T. Maxwell and Edwin Lowden Lowe establ ...

. On August 26, 2019, another Furr's location did the same in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

across from the South Plains Mall. On April 21, 2021, Furr's parent companies Fresh Acquisitions LLC filed for Bankruptcy and all Furr's were permanently closed. Several of the owners of Fresh Acquisitions and its related entities (Jason Kemp, Allen Jones, Lawrence Harris, and Brian Padilla) have been named in multiple lawsuits alleging serious fraud and theft of money from both their business partners and the federal government. One of these suits was filed by the bankruptcy trustee in the April 20, 2021 bankruptcy case and alleges the theft of $13M of Paycheck Protection Program Loans by Jason Kemp, Allen Jones, Lawrence Harris, and Brian Padilla.

References

{{Reflist 1946 establishments in New Mexico 2021 disestablishments in Texas Buffet restaurants Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1979 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 Lea County, New Mexico Regional restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1946 Restaurants in New Mexico defunct restaurants in Texas Defunct restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants disestablished in 2021