Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BISHOP'S BUFFET
BISHOP'S BUFFET. In 2010 Bishop's Buffet, a company started by Benjamin Franklin Bishop, was celebrating ninety years in business. Bishop opened his first restaurant in the former Ellis Hotel Waterloo, Iowa in 1920. There were eventually 35 locations across seven mid-western states. (1)
Rod Crowe and his wife, Mary, worked for the Bishop's Buffet chain through high school and college. Rod was a manager in training and Mary was a checker. After being transferred around the Midwest, they arrived in Dubuque where Bishop's was located at the front entrance to KENNEDY MALL.
Furr's Restaurant Group, Inc. headquartered in Richardson, Texas was started by Benjamin Franklin Bishop in 1947. The company went public in 1969. Kmart acquired Furr's, located mainly in the Southwest, in 1980 and Bishops with its six locations in Iowa and Illinois in 1983. Both chains were sold again five years later when Kmart realized its own financial condition. (2)
The Crowes and Curt Pooley of Solon, Iowa purchased the restaurant in 2006. While not all Bishops were organized the same way, the customer was first given a "king's ransom" of desserts from which to choose. Their chocolate ambrosia pie was a mainstay; pumpkin pie came in a close second and third. Rounding the corner, staff members were ready to add a plate of different meats including roast beef, fried chicken and fish. A choice of vegetables followed; drinks came last. Going back for "seconds" was a rule among children.
In 2010, Bishop's had been at Kennedy Mall for forty years. There were forty-seven employees with many having a dozen or more years of employment.
On January 3, 2012 the last of all locations, Bishop's in Dubuque, was closed. (3)
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Source:
1. A special note of appreciation to James Johnson who made all this possible. e-mail March 12, 2024
2. "Furr's Restaurant Group, Inc. History" Fundinguniverse.com
3. Ibid.