Ground Round IOC, LLC

What Ground Round IOC, LLC does

Ground Round IOC, LLC, doing business as The Ground Round, is a single-location casual dining restaurant operating at 271 Grafton Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. The business is a revival of the original Ground Round chain (originally established in 1969 under Howard Johnson) and is positioned around nostalgia, classic American comfort food, and a relaxed family-friendly atmosphere. The restaurant serves a broad menu spanning appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, ribs, pasta, entrees, kids' items, desserts, and sides, alongside a full bar with cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Operating hours run Tuesday through Sunday with a recently added weekend lunch service, and the kitchen closes at 9:00 PM nightly; the restaurant is closed on Mondays.

The business is purely brick-and-mortar with no proprietary technology platform. Its digital infrastructure is fully outsourced: SpotOn provides the website and online ordering for pickup, while SecureTree powers gift card commerce. Revenue is generated from three streams — in-restaurant food and beverage transactions, private event hosting (live music nights and themed dinners), and gift card sales — all on a per-transaction basis with no subscription or contracted recurring revenue. Marketing is conducted through the company website, email, an active Facebook page, and event-driven programming. The target customer base is horizontal, led by casual diners and families seeking nostalgic American comfort food, with a secondary segment of private event hosts.

Ground Round IOC, LLC is a privately held Massachusetts LLC with 11–50 employees. No investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, parent entities, or leadership team are disclosed in the available data beyond the historical founder attribution to Howard Johnson. The company operates exclusively in the U.S. domestic market with a single location, no app, no API, no proprietary technology, and no announced expansion plans beyond organic service-line additions at the Shrewsbury site.

Name

Ground Round IOC, LLC

Legal name

Ground Round IOC, LLC

Website

https://groundround.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Ground Round is a single-location casual dining restaurant in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, reviving the legacy Ground Round brand by serving classic American comfort food, a full bar, and private events to local families and casual diners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Casual dining restaurant
• American comfort food
• Bar and grill service
• Private event hosting
• Sports themed restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Shrewsbury

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from in-person dining and bar sales. Customers pay per visit for menu items including appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, ribs, pasta, salads, seafood, and desserts, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. This is a per-transaction model with no subscription component.
2. Private Events: The restaurant generates revenue from hosting private events including live music nights and themed dinners. These events are marketed to drive additional foot traffic and higher spend per customer.
3. Gift Card Sales: Gift cards are sold through a third-party platform (SecureTree), providing pre-paid revenue that converts to sales when redeemed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Ground Round is a casual American restaurant and bar serving a full food menu (appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, ribs, pasta, entrees, kids menu, desserts, sides) along with a beverage menu of cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. The single Shrewsbury, MA location also hosts private events such as live music nights and themed dinners, sells gift cards through SecureTree, and takes online pickup orders via SpotOn.

Product overview

The Ground Round is a restaurant offering a unified dining experience centered on its food and beverage service. The core products include a comprehensive food menu featuring American classics (burgers, seafood, salads, ribs, pasta, entrees) and a drink menu with beverages. Additional service offerings include private event hosting (live music, themed dinners), gift cards, and online ordering through the SpotOn platform. The restaurant operates from a single location in Shrewsbury, MA, and does not appear to offer a modular or platform-based product architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Menu Classic American food menu featuring appetizers (wings, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, clam strips), soups (broccoli cheddar, chili, clam chowder), salads (chopped Italian, Cobb, Greek, house, taco), sandwiches (chicken Caesar wrap, Reuben, steak & cheese, turkey club), burgers (BBQ whiskey, bleu cheese, classic, smash, build-your-own, veggie), ribs, pasta, entrees, a kids menu, desserts, and sides.
• Drink Menu Beverage menu including cocktails, non-alcoholic drinks, and specialty beverages available for dine-in service at the restaurant and bar.
• Private Events Event hosting services at the Shrewsbury, MA restaurant including live music nights, special themed dinners, and private gatherings available for booking by individuals and organizations.
• Gift Cards Digital and physical gift card purchases sold through the SecureTree e-commerce platform, enabling gifting to friends and family and pre-paying future restaurant visits.
• Online Ordering Digital food ordering service allowing customers to place pickup orders through the third-party SpotOn platform at order.spoton.com.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Applebee's: Largest U.S. casual dining chain serving burgers, ribs, pasta, and bar drinks in a neighborhood grill setting. Directly comparable to The Ground Round's casual American menu and bar-led dining experience.
• Chili's Grill & Bar: National casual dining chain with a menu centered on burgers, ribs, fajitas, and bar service. Overlaps directly with The Ground Round's full-service casual American fare and event-friendly format.
• TGI Fridays: Long-running casual dining and bar chain known for American comfort food, cocktails, and themed ambiance. Highly comparable as a legacy casual dining concept with bar-centric service.
• Buffalo Wild Wings: Sports-themed casual dining chain with full bar, wings, burgers, and event-friendly atmosphere. Comparable to The Ground Round's sports-themed positioning and live entertainment programming.
• Friendly's: Iconic Northeastern casual dining and ice cream concept with multi-generational brand recognition. Directly comparable to The Ground Round as a heritage American casual chain in the same geography.
• Ruby Tuesday: Casual dining chain offering American classics including burgers, ribs, pasta, and a garden bar. Comparable menu breadth and full-service casual positioning to The Ground Round.
• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews: Casual dining chain specializing in gourmet burgers, sandwiches, and bar service. Closely comparable to The Ground Round's burger-centric menu and full-bar family dining model.
• Denny's: Iconic American diner-style casual chain with broad comfort food menu and bar service. Comparable as a heritage American casual concept with cross-generational brand recognition.
• Outback Steakhouse: Bloomin' Brands' casual dining chain serving American fare with full bar service in a themed atmosphere. Comparable full-service casual American concept with bar-led revenue mix.

Regional players

• 99 Restaurant: New England-based casual dining chain serving American comfort food, burgers, and full bar service. Closest regional peer operating in the same geography with similar menu architecture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/groundroundusa
• Facebookfacebook.com/groundroundusa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ground-round

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ground Round IOC, LLC