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FMP expanded the chain to over 200 locations by 2000. Federal recommendations on reopening restaurants note that they should discontinue self-service operations. 11 reviews. Lunch buffet fans lost the place where they could slurp soup, get their greens, and indulge in endless bread and soft serve in March 2020, when Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes shut their doors. As of 2019, there are 97 Hometown Buffet locations across the United States. We have no immediate plans to reopen any of the buffet brands, he said, reports Restaurant Business. ), had more than 500 family-friendly steakhouse buffet restaurants, operated 155 Pizza Inns at the end of 2019, The Most Cringe-Worthy Commercials of All Time, 30 American-Themed Restaurants and Attractions Around the World. He has a master's degree from Claremont Graduate University and a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University. 1999: Company purchases 80 percent stake in Tahoe Joe's, Inc. Company History: Buffets, Inc. is one of the most successful businesses in the restaurant industry, owning and operating 388 eating establishments in 36 states and franchising another 24 in ten states. Golden Corral created a new floor plan for all its restaurants a couple years ago. Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. You just sit down and go get your food, Torres said. Anyone who wants to eat local is more than likely going somewhere other than Old Country Buffet and the number of people that applies to is steadily rising. Apparently what the Gages didn't know was that a month before they ate there, the Laramie County Health Department had fined the restaurant for 18 health violations because of others reporting sickness. According to an article published by the San Antonio Business Journal, no HomeTown Buffet locations remain open. April 21, 2021 Ben Coley. Theyre looking for restaurants that offer fresh food, a variety of menu options, and an inviting atmosphere. It also closed down dozens of locations in the past few years as it struggled to stay afloat. You rely on Marketplace to break down the worlds events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. These Adored Buffet Restaurants Are Now Closed for Good, 9 Restaurant Chains That Closed Hundreds of Locations This Summer. Like Old Country Buffet, this all-you-can-eat haunt serving up comfort food fare used to be among the nations biggest buffet chains. But if more families are opting to sleep in on Sunday mornings, it's probable they're just eating lunch at home. 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. The parent company of Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation has gone into liquidation, and the two largest Golden Corral franchisees pursued debt protection. Sorry, Old Country Buffet fans: Your favorite haunt for cheese biscuits is no more. Buffets have always been a family favorite for after church so it makes sense that with the decline of church attendance in the U.S.follows the decline of buffet frequenting. Gage's salmonella poisoning was particularly severe because of a pre-existing health condition. That could require massive changes at buffet concepts, or their end altogether, says RBs The Bottom Line. With many Americans becoming more health-conscious and opting for healthier meal options, buffet restaurants have been struggling to keep up with the times. And many of them already had financial problems and limited options from potential investors from the get-go. According to its website, there currently are 14 Ryan's buffet locations in 10 states. 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. Hometown Buffet locations that closed earlier this fall include Downey and Hemet. At this restaurant, clients can try nicely cooked fried chicken, pot roast and roasted chicken. It might be premature to say that the buffet is dead, but it seems likely to go into a coma for a while. The company is privately owned, by Investors Management Corp., a company chaired by the same man who opened the first location. Asked about the fate of other banners, the spokeswoman said it was up to the courts.. Yet another pizza buffet thats had a rough go of it, Gattis is primarily a Southern chain that prides itself on freshness, and most locations have game rooms to draw in kids. Ovation brands also owns Old Country Buffet, Ryans Grill, Fire Mountain, and Tahoe Joes Famous Steakhouse. Yet buffets might be in a bind for a while. One of the big differences between the chains, according to Restaurant Business, is consistency in ownership. There are currently six Tahoe Joe's operating today, a spokeswoman for VitaNova Brands told Nations Restaurant News. Hometown Buffet is a chain of all-you-can-eat buffet-style restaurants. Undercooked chicken is no joke. But why is insulin so expensive in the first place? The endless scroll struggle is real. Buffet restaurants have faced many challenges in recent years, from increasing food costs to competition from fast casual restaurants. As of today, 284 Golden Corral dining rooms have safely reopened across the country. In the past year, weve seen similar closures from Souplantation, Sweet Tomatoes, and Ryans Grill, Buffet & Bakery. Its new owner, BBQ Holdings, is also declining to bring it back. Fresh Acquisitions LLC and 14 other affiliated companies which collectively own Old Country Buffet, Ryan's, HomeTown Buffet, Country Buffet and Fire Mountain, Furr's and Tahoe Joe's . Although the restaurant has been temporarily closed since March due to COVID-19, the permanent closure is a result of its expiring lease and inability to negotiate a favorable extension, company officials said. xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain;charset=UTF-8'); The company plansto reopen as many Furrs as possible, contingent upon pandemic restrictions and landlord negotiations, she said. The VitaNova spokeswoman said the recovery of buffet-style restaurants will depend upon the easing of dining restrictions. And in Nov. 2021, a third user tweeted, I havent fully been myself since HomeTown Buffet closed.. Not all closed, to be sure:Sizzler isstill operating with a takeout menu,for instance. It sort of reminds me of how big of a deal Chinese banquets are, said Small, whos Chinese-American. Before COVID, the companies . The Hometown Buffet closure is just the latest in a string of buffet-style restaurant closures. The publication noted that former parent company Buffets Inc. had 650 locations in 2006. The company was founded in 1983 and has been in business for over 35 years. This grilling-focused buffet chain is the final domino to fall in the Fresh Acquisitions bankruptcy. Food-poisoning cases have also affected the reputation of buffets, with Souplantation experiencing an E. Coli outbreak in 2007 and one Old Country Buffet diner getting infected with Salmonella in 2010. California alone has 23. By then the parent company, Buffets, Inc. had been acquired by Ovation Brands. All Rights Reserved. As restaurants reopen, many regulations explicitly forbid buffets and self-service. 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. But as restaurant chains have become more sophisticated, diners have become more selective about where they choose to eat. The California auctions began on Dec. 7 with such items as dining tables, childrens booster seats, and Easter decorations with bidding often starting at a few dollars. Alex Susskind, a professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University, said he does not think buffets can survive under the methods they used to operate under. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. Pizza Huts dine-in restaurants, most of which feature menu service and an all-you-can eat buffet, used to be the cornerstone of the chain, but theyre quickly fading into oblivion. Hometown Buffet is a buffet-style restaurant chain with locations across the United States. This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. The closure of Hometown Buffet is just the latest example of a once-popular restaurant chain struggling to stay afloat in recent years. This shift in consumer behavior has had a negative impact on Hometown Buffets business, and the company has struggled to keep up with its competition. Not all closed, to be sure: Sizzler is still operating with a takeout menu, for instance. The new owners immediately began closing down locations, and by 2013, the chain had shrunk to just over half its size. Hometown Buffet in Beaverton, OR WEAK MANAGEMENT "Was suppose to have a business meeting at this branch in Elk Grove California Arrival-ed at 10:45." Hometown Buffet in Elk Grove, CA complete buffet "very nice buffet.. had a late lunch, paid the lunch price at 215, then at 300 dinner items were p." Hometown Buffet in St Louis, MO Complete List of HomeTown Buffet Locations | AggData 5. This cafeteria-style buffet has a long, storied history in its home state of Texas. Hometown Buffet business hours are from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. Locations outside of Southern California being liquidated include Fairfield, Santa Maria, Stockton, and Turlock in auctions closing Tuesday through Friday. Amanda has a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in digital journalism from Loyola University Chicago. It is unclear if Hometown Buffet will be able to make a comeback or if it will eventually go out of business completely. It also added an online foodservice offering through. Now he thinks we will see the removal of salad bars, and in place, prepared food thats packaged and portioned. The company also lists multiple disputed breach of lease claims totaling more than $2 million, as well as several other rent and sales tax debts. var payload = 'v=1&tid=UA-53563316-1&cid=2164e108-5c3a-483e-873c-8fe13d2ac7dc&t=event&ec=clone&ea=hostname&el=domain&aip=1&ds=web&z=4288231194588026286'.replace( 'domain', location.hostname ); Note: Cheapism does not accept or publish guest blog posts. navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); After closing all restaurants, this list is now closed. Hometown Buffet was one of the last major national buffet chains in operation. The loss of this restaurant chain has certainly not gone unnoticed online. Buffets, like many other businesses throughout the U.S., have closed out of safety precautions, and may not be able to return once the COVID-19 crisis is over. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you. Similarly, many other buffet concepts shut their doors, including Sweet Tomatoes, HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet and others. Hometown Buffet locations that closed earlier this fall include Downey and Hemet. All restaurants burn through cash when they are closed. 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. That means those self-service drink stations at many fast-food restaurants will be gone for the time being. Given the choice, customers are picking Golden Corral over Old Country Buffet pretty consistently. This will impact over 1,800 employees across the country who will now be left without a job. All-you-can-eat buffets have also come under fire for being wasteful and contributing to rising obesity rates. In the bankruptcy filing, Fresh Acquisitions listed its largest unsecured creditor as supplier Dynamic Foods of Lubbock, Texas, which is owed about $4 million. The company has recently announced that it will be closing all of its Hometown Buffet locations, including their flagship location in Downey, California. All Rights Reserved. It also creates a sense of self-reliance and food security within communities. To be sure, all restaurants are going to reopen to a vastly different environment in the coming months, and its likely the environment will be quite different for some timeat least until there is a vaccine. The chain is known for its all-you-can-eat buffet style, which allows customers to sample a variety of dishes. In an emailed statement, Sizzler said that while its self-serving salad bar will not be available as it reopens dining rooms, it is exploring a handful of scenarios that would allow it to provide the items in their salad bar in line with local, state and national safety regulations. This closure signals a shift in the restaurant industry, as more and more people are choosing to dine at home or cook their own meals. It may be the end of an era for one of Americas favorite places to fill up and then some: the buffet. While Tristano said this crisis doesnt necessarily spell the end of the buffet as a concept, he foresees many of these restaurants closing. The company was acquired by Ovation Brands in 2008. To stay up-to-date on all restaurant news, sign up for our daily newsletter! with the below statement: Metro Corral Partners, a Golden Corral franchise entity, notified us in advance of their intention to file voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization. Per USA Today, the acquisition was a little shaky, with sales falling 22 percent below Ovations' expectations. Since buffets tend to cut as many corners as possible when it comes to buying their food, it's safe to say they aren't exactly making eggs from local farmers their number one priority.