Doron Richard Jensen (born September 1, 1958) is an American

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

who was the principal founder of Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Homestyle Buffet, and Old Country Buffet.

Early life

Doron Richard Jensen was born in

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, to pastors

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

and Bonnie Jensen. Jensen spent much of his formative youth in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

, Ethiopia, before returning to the United States in 1965. He dropped out of a secondary school at the age of 16. Influenced by his grandfather's cafe, Jensen's Cafe, Jensen entered the restaurant business as a busboy. Jensen's parents were supportive of his endeavors from an early age. Jensen started his buffet career working as a manager at Sirloin Stockade and Ponderosa and Bonaza Steakhouse in Iowa in the 1970s. After the death of his grandfather, 20-year-old Doron felt ready to take over his grandfather's cafe in Fremont,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. His parents helped arrange the takeover of the restaurant, but was blocked by other relatives that thought he was too young for the responsibility. Jensen briefly attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Old Country Buffet (1983–1986)

Jensen was brought into Old Country Buffet by Roe Hatlen and C. Dennis Scott in 1983. Jensen opened the first restaurant in St. Cloud,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in 1983. In 1984, Jensen starting opening more locations in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area, eventually expanding its reach outside of Minnesota. Jensen began opening its restaurants along the eastern seaboard, but disagreements began among company leadership whether to expand into the American South. Disagreements within the company continued regarding southern United States expansion, and eventually led to Jensen and major investor and construction magnate Dermot Rowland to leave the company to start their own buffet chain, Homestyle Buffet. Shortly after Jensen's departure, ''

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'' recognized Old Country Buffett as one of the "200 best small companies in the United States" before becoming the largest buffet chain in the world posting revenues of $808.5 million and $868.9 million by the 1990s. Jensen cited his "youth and entrepreneurial spirit" as reasons why he left the company so early in its development.

Homestyle Buffet (1986–1990)

Jensen left Old Country Buffet to lead what would become Homestyle Buffet. At just the age of 28, Jensen opened Homestyle Buffets Inc. and incorporated them in Clearwater,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, in 1986. He took the company public on December 1, 1988. Jensen expanded the reach of the company outside of Florida and across the eastern seaboard and eventually into

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. However, Jensen left the company after just 40 restaurants to return to the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

to pursue other ventures.

Timberlodge Steakhouse (1991–1995)

While in Florida, Jensen was influenced by the developing steakhouse concept that would eventually become Outback Steakhouse. Jensen decided to return to

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Minnesota, where he founded the company Q-Steaks Inc as the umbrella company for Minnesota Steakhouse in January 1991. Again, Jensen took his company public. Timber Lodge Steakhouse went public on January 1, 1993. Jensen changed the name to Timber Lodge Steakhouse in 1994 when the company's reach expanded outside of Minnesota, with the exception of Paul Bunyan's in New York. In 1995, he resigned as President of the company, again leaving a company that he had founded. Later, Jensen along with Outback Steakhouse founder, Chris T. Sullivan, would be attributed with rebooting the Q-steak American steakhouse concept.

Later career

Since Timber Lodge Steakhouse, Jensen has primarily focused on signature restaurants over large-scale restaurant chains. Jensen developed the signature restaurant Q-Cumbers in

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, Minnesota, and later developed his own personal brand of self-titled restaurants Jensen's Cafe, Jensen's Supper Club, and Jensen's food & cocktails. Jensen's Cafe is named in honor of his grandfather's original Jensen's Cafe in Fremont, Nebraska. Jensen's concepts and designs have been cited as influence for other restaurant brands such as Minervas food & cocktails and Hazelwood food & drinks. Jensen was elected as the President of the

interest group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

the Minnesota Restaurant Association in 2000. Jensen's career has also included lobbyist efforts representing the National Restaurant Association in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. He has also served on various commerce boards in Minnesota.

Personal life

Doron Jensen is the son of American theologian Richard A. Jensen and Bonnie L. Jensen. Jensen was also a relative of writer Moritz Thomsen and Mets Pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Jensen is the older brother of fellow restrauteur Derek Jensen. Jensen currently owns and operates a small collection of restaurants in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Doron 1958 births American restaurateurs Businesspeople from Iowa Businesspeople from Minneapolis Jensen family Living people People from Dubuque, Iowa