Meet Dave Ross of Ranchman’s Ponder Steakhouse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Ross.

Dave, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Started my 40 year food service career at this established legendary steakhouse in 1975. Learned to butcher hindquarters, made bread and pies well enough to open my own scratch café in 1975. Worked in various establishments, BBQ, chains, catering, quality control, food brokerage and mfg. rep. Started turn key food service design and operation in the 80’s and started to realize my dream of taking over the Ranchman’s in 1985 when I lease purchased it. My dream was to take it to the next level in operating efficiency and control to increase the volume towards it’s potential. The price was too high and I left for 6 years until the circumstances changed and the price dropped to reasonable in 1992. The business recovered, tripling from its historical sales. The founder Pete (Grace) Jackson taught me volumes about running the business and my drive to learn everything about the business, brought back experience and knowledge to evolve Ranchman’s into the restaurant heaven it is today. These hole in the wall places are thinning out due to pressure from the chains unless we can find a niche and do it well.

Has it been a smooth road?
The economic fluctuations have to be dealt with. Paying off the property quickly and maintaining the facilities and equipment require more investment and less profit than one would think. Long hours and delayed vacations or even days off are the nemesis of this industry. My corporate experiences prepared me with the stamina to endure and plan for the long run. A restaurant owns the owner, not the other way around. Most of my struggles were trying to find honest staff and recovering from the ones who were not. Setbacks from their hijinks cost me loss of customers and recovering loss of money and product, slowed down the stages of improvement that I intended to pursue.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Ranchman’s Ponder Steakhouse – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Ranchman’s reputation started in 1948 for fresh, scratch steaks, burgers, pies and cobblers. My staff knows, don’t serve it if you wouldn’t eat it yourself. The team of long term management and staff work together happily and was described by a non-industry patron as “a dance where everyone flows seamlessly, knowing the steps” especially when it is very busy. The goal of my family working together was reached when my wife waited tables, one son cooked, another handled the dish room and my daughter ran the cash register, while I kept the front and back of house flowing smoothly. I’m proud of the current staff’s ability to learn scratch food preparation, friendly service and to take pride in their work. We consistently produce simple traditional Texas foods at a reasonable price. We love our customers and they love us.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
DFW is stable, evolving and growing, with the down side of traffic nightmares that never seem to end. The highway construction takes its toll on my business, because Ranchman’s was a 45 minute drive from DFW, but now it may take twice that. We are located in a sleepy little town surrounded by farming, cattle and horses, which helps me to remind my DFW patrons that “getting the city in your rear-view mirror is needed to maintain sanity.”

Contact Info:

• Address: 110 W Bailey St.,
  Ponder, Texas 76259
• Website: www.ranchman.com
• Phone: 940-479-2221
• Email: info@ranchman.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RanchmansPonderSteakhouse

Image Credit:
John Karjanis

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.