However, one thing is clear: the days of the all-you-can-eat buffet may be numbered. Market Realist is a registered trademark. Amanda has a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in digital journalism from Loyola University Chicago. 1,282 were here. Bidding at the website Auction Nation closed at noon Monday, Dec. 14, on restaurants in Lakewood, Loma Linda, and Torrance. The company is based in Downey, California. It opened an additional seven locations and now has 489, and average unit volumes increased. The companys closure leaves Golden Corral as the only major national buffet chain still in operation. In 2017, Hometown Buffetufffds parent company, Downey Financial Corp., filed for bankruptcy. Enhanced delivery, takeout, and curbside pick-up are available at all locations. The future of Hometown Buffet is uncertain. The big buffet chain has been gradually reopening locations across the country with a different service model, typically a cafeteria-style strategy in which employees serve customers items that would have otherwise been in a buffet. According to Restaurant Business, the COVID-19 crisis has hit buffet brands hard. Golden Corral created a new floor plan for all its restaurants a couple years ago. Related: 22 Things You Didn't Know About Jell-O. Buffet-style restaurants have always been popular among families and budget-minded diners. Cheapism may earn a commission if you buy through a link on our site. The typical limited-service buffet concept saw unit count decline 10.3% last year, according to Restaurant Business sister company Technomic, while sales fell 9.1%. Does Ryan's still exist? We've already established that Old Country Buffet isn't a great choice for anyone who's watching their diet, but the chain has a reputation for being unhealthy in a whole other way, too. The social distancing as it relates to buffets is a challenge, said Roslyn Stone, chief operating officer for Zero Hour Health, which helps restaurant operators with food safety and health issues. The restaurant also has a take-out option. But now the pandemic is forcing them to shift away from the buffet into a service model. Theyre redoing their menu, paying more staff to attend to customers, and trying to partner with delivery services to boost takeout sales. My mom would be so mad at me telling this story, but I just think its so funny, she said. buffet restaurants have been hit hard by the rise of fast casual chains like Chipotle and Panera Bread, which offer fresh, made-to-order food at a similar price point. That means. Now the world (and its many cuisines) is at your lazy fingertips. Last August, VitaNova, which previously had been known as Food Management Partners, said it was converting some of Furrs locations to the AYCE Marketplace concept, which features a table-service, all-you-can-eat offering. But as restaurant chains have become more sophisticated, diners have become more selective about where they choose to eat. It is unclear if Hometown Buffet will be able to make a comeback or if it will eventually go out of business completely. The buffet chain, which was founded in 1983, was once a staple of American dining, but it had fallen on hard times in recent years. Check out this old Old Country Buffet training video. "The pandemic's business impact on our segment has been significant," said Golden Corral Corporation CEO Lance Trenary. For a list of stores that were open prior to this change, please contact our Customer Service . 988 Goodman Rd, Horn Lake, MS 38637", https://web.archive.org/web/20050315003554/http://www.buffet.com/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VitaNova_Brands&oldid=1138835566, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 22:20. This cafeteria-style buffet has a long, storied history in its home state of Texas. Last October, the company said it was permanently closing four buffet units, including two Hometown Buffet restaurants in California, a Ryan's in West Virginia and an Old Country buffet in. As the virus spread in early March, Golden Corral added safeguards to its buffets. HomeTown Buffet. All restaurants burn through cash when they are closed. Overall the spaces are more efficient for a high volume of people, but staff and patrons alike have plenty of room to prepare and scarf down some legit Southern style pot roast and fried chicken. Parent company VitaNova Brands, based in San Antonio, Texas, announced the closures, saying it allows them to focus on a new line of restaurants. As of today, 284 Golden Corral dining rooms have safely reopened across the country. Old Country Buffet simply can't compete with the modern vibes and fresh fare that fast casual restaurants like Qdoba and Sweetgreen deliver so effortlessly. Last August, VitaNova, which previously had been known as Food Management Partners, said it, was converting some of Furrs locations to the AYCE Marketplace concept, which features a table-service, all-you-can-eat offering. Ponderosa (or Bonanza, depending on your region) was a Western-themed buffet that served up slabs of meat, veggies, and chicken wings with equal aplomb. Still, it couldnt escape market forces, and Gattis parent company filed for bankruptcy in early 2019, a decision that spurred an undisclosed number of closings. Employees were furloughed then, but all have been notified that the four are now buffets closed for good. Breaking news: Wildly popular HomeTown Buffet in Salinas abruptly closes doors, no warning to roughly 30 employees, told to return this afternoon for final check.. pic.twitter.com/70G4Z4DXhC. As always, the safety of our teams, guests, and communities remains our highest priority. 13 reviews $$ - $$$ American. I feel like just to still have a business to come back to, to still have my employees back with me that definitely is a positive, she said. While Tristano said this crisis doesnt necessarily spell the end of the buffet as a concept, he foresees many of these restaurants closing. Like many of the chains on this list, it was in steady decline before the pandemic, its restaurants dwindlingto 75 by 2019 from more than 300, according to Vox. Trying to find a Hometown Buffet? After Buffets, Inc (who owns chains like Old Country Buffet, Home Town Buffet, and Ryan's) filed for bankruptcy in 2012, they closed 16 percent of their restaurants, according to Forbes. The closure of Hometown Buffet is just the latest example of a once-popular restaurant chain struggling to stay afloat in recent years. Hometown Buffet is a chain of buffet-style restaurants founded in 1983 in Downey, California. What happened to the all-you-can-eat destination? Even if the closed restaurant locations could be reopened immediately, the debtors believe that the short-term costs of maintaining the leases would outweigh any potential long-term benefits from operating the restaurants therein, the filing stated. Hometown Buffet offers a variety of food and drink options, including a salad bar, hot entrees, and a dessert bar. On Wednesday, January 2, 2019, it was announced that Hometown Buffet, a restaurant chain specializing in an all-you-can-eat buffet of American food items, would be closing down all of its company-owned locations. Guidelines like these are either pushing buffets to shut down entirely, like in Souplantations case, or at the very least, prompting both nationwide chains and local buffets to alter their business model and restaurant design. Buffets LLC, also filed bankruptcy at the same time. It also closed down dozens of locations in the past few years as it struggled to stay afloat. The chains new owners hope to turn things around with more of a focus on delivery. Hometown Buffet locations that closed earlier this fall include Downey and Hemet. Buffets just arent designed to be convenient.. So if a healthy eater on a mission figures out their layout and makes a detour for the proteins and produce (while skipping all the filling carbs), they're going to cost a lot more to feed than other diners who paid the same entry fee for the buffet. It gets worse. every day. In 2014, The Gages sued Old Country Buffet and Ovation Brands for permanent damage to his health and medical costs associated with treating salmonella poisoning. Now he thinks we will see the removal of salad bars, and in place, prepared food thats packaged and portioned. Related:Local Burger Chains the Rest of the Country Needs. 6 Hometown Buffet Locations in Connecticut (CT, US) Enfield Hometown Buffet Manchester Hometown Buffet Milford Hometown Buffet Related: The Most Cringe-Worthy Commercials of All Time. The company also has TogoKitchens.com, Zio's Italian Kitchen, Sushi Zushi, Tahoe Joe's, Don Pablo's Cantina, Hometown AYCE Marketplace, Old Country AYCE Marketplace, Furr's AYCE Marketplace, and Ryan's AYCE Marketplace in their restaurant lineup. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and was purchased by Ovation Brands in 2009. } ahoe Joe's operating today, a spokeswoman for VitaNova Brands told Nations Restaurant News. But BBQ Holdings CEO Jeff Crivello said a day after the auction that the buffet restaurants would stay closed. Related:Chain Restaurants That Are Closing Locations. Fresh Acquisitions LLC and Buffets LLC, the parent of five buffet concepts and one steakhouse, declared bankruptcy Tuesday as COVID-19 "significantly disrupted" operations and "severely limited" demand. Not all closed, to be sure: Sizzler is still operating with a takeout menu, for instance. advice every day. All-you-can-eat buffets are a dying breed. By the time the pandemic hit, it had only 16 locations in four states. While the buffet is mocked for purportedly having low-quality food choices, its a place that many have special memories of and will miss if it disappears. The closure of Hometown Buffet marks the end of an era for buffet restaurants. All-you-can-eat buffets are ripe with chances to pick up bacteria and illnesses, and the general public is wising up to this knowledge. All-you-can-eat restaurants have been on the decline in recent years, as customers are increasingly health-conscious and prefer fresh, made-to-order food. Hometown Buffet locations that closed earlier this fall include Downey and Hemet. Choice overload is a thing, which is why niche restaurants are so popular in a time period when our choices are endless. All Rights Reserved. All-you-can-eat buffets are also a victim of changing dietary habits. Try our delicious grill. Hometown Buffet announced that it would be closing down all of its restaurants this week, news that sent shockwaves through the already beleaguered restaurant industry. NRN editors talk about the NRAs recent report, what happens when children are banned from restaurants, and celebrity marketing, Duffys Sports Grill Mastered Gift Cards in a Flash, Examining new ways to collect restaurant guest data, It's time to Roll Up to Win at Tim Hortons with exciting new prizes, Subway opens new dual headquarters building in Miami, Menu Tracker: New items from Burger King, KFC, and Chipotle, San Diegos Trust Restaurant Group drives retention, innovation with culture of yes, Nations Restaurant News launches new CREATE Roadshow event series, the company said it was permanently closing four buffet units, Allowed HTML tags:

. The irony is, buffets are probably the fastest food to mouth option you can get outside of your home they just don't have that "fast casual" label that's practically required for popular eateries these days. Amid the upheaval, VitaNova Brands began managing Fresh Acquisitions restaurants in Jan. 2021, and Fresh Acquisitions went into bankruptcy in April 2021. 11 reviews. Anyone who's trying to shed some pounds might see images of endless bins of greasy food as a straight-up recipe for fatness, so more than likely, they're staying away. As with almost every one of our peers, buffet restaurants took the brunt of the loss of sales during the pandemic and as such, the path to success requires hard choices to be made, including the rationalization of our overall footprint, said Jason Kemp, co-founder and CEO of VitaNova Brands, in a statement this week. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you. Add a photo. In 2008, FMP filed for bankruptcy and sold Hometown Buffet to Ovation Brands.