It is unclear if Hometown Buffet will be able to make a comeback or if it will eventually go out of business completely. And in Nov. 2021, a third user tweeted, I havent fully been myself since HomeTown Buffet closed.. The publication noted that former parent company Buffets Inc. had 650 locations in 2006. The demise of Hometown Buffet is a sign of how much the all-you-can-eat buffet model has fallen out of favor with American diners. VitaNova shut down the locations in March when the coronavirus pandemic began. He underwent a two-week hospital stint and multiple surgeries, and as of 2015 remained in constant chronic pain. Anthony Wedo, the CEO of Old Country Buffet's parent company, Buffets Inc., was even on the CBS hit show Undercover Boss in 2013 in an effort to reinvigorate the company's name after it fell on hard times. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and was purchased by Ovation Brands in 2009. Real talk: People also probably feel classier eating at Golden Corral since the word "buffet" isn't in the name. Theyre looking for restaurants that offer fresh food, a variety of menu options, and an inviting atmosphere. 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. The locations are permanently closed as of Oct. 9. Broad-menu buffet concepts now face a longer timeline for that reopening. Buffet chains have been hit particularly hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic since their business models. These days there's a restaurant for pretty much every kind of niche food you can think of, from chicken and waffles to Indonesian stew. All Rights Reserved. It's not very likely you'll get your delivery driver to bring you seconds unless, of course, you pay him a second time, too. Buffet restaurants have faced many challenges in recent years, from increasing food costs to competition from fast casual restaurants. In addition, many consumers are now looking for restaurants that offer healthy options, something that mostbuffets lack. After closing all restaurants, this list is now closed. Amid the recession of the mid-2000s, however, Buffets declared bankruptcy in 2008 and again in 2012. All restaurants burn through cash when they are closed. If the family does go to church and eat afterward, they're probably eating atChipotle afterwards. Hometown Buffet is a buffet-style restaurant chain with locations across the United States. While things may change permanently, she said shes still grateful shes able to operate hers right now. Theyre redoing their menu, paying more staff to attend to customers, and trying to partner with delivery services to boost takeout sales. 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. Golden Corral Corporation reached out to ETNT! (These aren't the only eateries to say goodbye to, here are 9 Restaurant Chains That Closed Hundreds of Locations This Summer.) Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. 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. Get the best food tips and diet advice every single day, Now, you'll have the best and latest food and healthy eating news right in your inboxevery As of today, 284 Golden Corral dining rooms have safely reopened across the country. The chain lost at least 15 restaurantsbetween late 2019 and September 2020, according to Restaurant Business. Do not sell my personal infoPrivacy PolicyContact UsRSS. Then Old Country Buffet declared bankruptcy a third time in 2016 (so much for inspiration from Aaliyah). Hometown Buffet is a chain of buffet-style restaurants founded in 1983 in Downey, California. PLEASE NOTE: This company's store count has changed due to COVID-19 related circumstances. You may not think buffet when you think Pizza Hut, and thats exactly what the company wants. to reopen as many Furrs as possible, contingent upon pandemic restrictions and landlord negotiations, she said. Here's a look at all the once-mighty buffet chains that have recently closed locations or disappeared altogether. Updated Oct 12, 2020, 12:13pm CDT. Still in mourning? In the bankruptcy filing, Fresh Acquisitions listed its largest unsecured creditor as supplier Dynamic Foods of Lubbock, Texas, which is owed about $4 million. 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. According to Gallup polling, the 42 percent of adults polled said they attended church in 2008. The Hometown Buffet closure is just the latest in a string of buffet-style restaurant closures. By the end of the month, its company stores were closed altogether. Its not easy for them to just shift gears and operate like conventional restaurants or start making deliveries, especially during a pandemic (with Round Table Pizza being an exception). When the pandemic started, Fresh Acquisitionsonce a subsidiary of FMP Managementhad 90 restaurants between HomeTown and the other brands. But its footprint has shrunk: Parent company Rave Restaurant Group operated 155 Pizza Inns at the end of 2019, but the Pizza Inn website shows only about 140 locations open currently. In 2017, Hometown Buffetufffds parent company, Downey Financial Corp., filed for bankruptcy. Add it all together, and this might well be the end for a massive portion of the broad-menu buffet business. Hometown Buffet has been closed for months, but has rebranded itself Hometown Buffet AYCE Marketplace, standing for All You Can Eat, in an attempt to combine the buffet concept with table service. 52 Hometown Buffet Locations in California (CA, US) City Shortcuts: Anaheim Eureka Fresno Moreno Valley Salinas San Leandro Hometown Buffet in 92802-3015 at 1630 W Katella Ave Hometown Buffet in 92806-4104 at 2190 E Lincoln Ave Bakersfield Hometown Buffet Bell Hometown Buffet Calexico Hometown Buffet Cerritos Hometown Buffet Chico Hometown Buffet We have no immediate plans to reopen any of the buffet brands, he said, reports Restaurant Business. 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. Farm-to-table menus full of sustainable, locally sourced ingredients are all the rage now. And many of them already had financial problems and limited options from potential investors from the get-go. In addition, many consumers are now more health conscious and are looking for healthier menu options when they go out to eat. Given the choice, customers are picking Golden Corral over Old Country Buffet pretty consistently. The company plansto reopen as many Furrs as possible, contingent upon pandemic restrictions and landlord negotiations, she said. Get the best food tips and diet advice At its peak, the chain had over 200 locations across the United States. 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. We are working with the Metro Corral leadership team and anticipate that they will continue to operate 24 of their 33 Golden Corral franchised locations in Georgia and Florida. The . Sales at the chain were down 62%in 2020. VitaNova Brands, owner of several all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant concepts, on Friday permanently closed the Old Country location at 6560 W. Fullerton Ave., in Chicago's Montclare neighborhood,. This North Carolina-based cafeteria buffet declared bankruptcy in September 2020, and loyal patrons have far fewer locations where they can chow down on Southern comfort staples. 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. The chain was founded in 1984 and currently has locations in 34 states. As of 2019, there are only 29 Hometown Buffet restaurants still in operation. Eli Lilly announced a cap on insulin costs. In 2008, FMP filed for bankruptcy and sold Hometown Buffet to Ovation Brands. 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. In 2018, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced that it would be selling itself to Ovation Brands, a subsidiary of Buffets, Inc. Hometown Buffet business hours are from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. The buffet restaurant format was very popular in the 1980s, but as Americans tastes changed, the demand for all-you-can-eat restaurants waned. Last week, the buffet chain Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes announced all 97 of its restaurants are closing permanently. HomeTown Buffet provides high quality food at affordable prices in a family friendly atmosphere. The Downey, California-based company has been in operation since 1983 and currently has locations across the United States. It is unclear what will happen to the Hometown Buffet locations that are currently in operation. It opened an additional seven locations and now has 489, and average unit volumes increased. 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. And we're not just talking about broken froyo machines at the lunch rush. These closures signal a change in the way that people are choosing to dine out. Hometown Buffets decline began in earnest in 2010, when the company was sold by its parent corporation ( buffets, Inc.) to an investor group led by Food Management Partners. That means. As the virus spread in early March, Golden Corral added safeguards to its buffets. But in the 21st century, despite the promise of delicious cheese biscuits awaiting you behind those ubiquitous red letters, Old Country Buffet has definitely had some setbacks. That means those self-service drink stations at many fast-food restaurants will be gone for the time being. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the fall of 2020, citing a huge decline in dine-in business and trouble negotiating rent relief with landlords. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of the buffet-style restaurants closed in March 2020. The guidelines also mention buffets that use common utensils or dispensers.. This will impact over 1,800 employees across the country who will now be left without a job. The company is compensating all vacation, sick time, and any other benefits. Life before food delivery apps was archaic! 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. Scott left in 1989 to start HomeTown Buffet, but the two chains merged in September 1996. Hometown Buffet has been a staple in the community for over 30 years, but its recently closed its doors. Article continues below advertisement The company faces stiff competition from other buffet chains, as well as from fast casual restaurants that offer made-to-order meals. Hometown Buffet is a buffet-style restaurant chain with locations across the United States. Parent company VitaNova Brands, based in San Antonio, Texas, announced the closures, saying it allows them to focus on a new line of restaurants. By the time the pandemic hit, it had only 16 locations in four states. xhr.open('POST', 'https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', true); Federal recommendations on reopening restaurants note that they should discontinue self-service operations. It's never a great idea to eat food that's been sitting out. When states shut dining rooms, it shifted to takeout only. Amanda has a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in digital journalism from Loyola University Chicago. In Oct. 2021, BBQ Holdingsthe parent company of the barbecue restaurant chain Famous Daveswon a bankruptcy auction for Fresh Acquisitions LLC, agreeing to pay $5.2 million in the deal. Today's healthier eating trends are better for us, but horrible for all-you-can eat chains like Old Country Buffet. Related: The Most Cringe-Worthy Commercials of All Time. Yet buffets might be in a bind for a while. if( 'moc.sihttae.www' !== location.hostname.split('').reverse().join('') ) { For a list of stores that were open prior to this change, please contact our Customer Service . New service models have been developed to comply with variations in local guidelines and provide our guests an enjoyable Golden Corral experience. The decline of the buffet is due to a variety of factors, including the rise of health consciousness and the popularity of healthy eating, the rise of food delivery and takeaway options, and the increasing cost of food. The concept of the buffet, which was once popular among restaurants, is now declining in popularity. The company will operate normally during the Chapter 11 process and it believes that a "number of the brands - including Furr's Buffet and Tahoe Joe's - can take advantage of the expected. A majority of these are reopening soon. Why did HomeTown Buffet close? It might be premature to say that the buffet is dead, but it seems likely to go into a coma for a while. Despite their best attempts, it's not easy to keep it warm enough or cool enough to avoid bacterial growth. As always, the safety of our teams, guests, and communities remains our highest priority. Like several other closed buffet chains, though, its store count dwindled in recent years as fast-casual dining started to dominate. Pizza Inn late last month instituted what it called a contactless buffet to-gooption, offering a combination of pizzas, appetizers and desserts at three price points. The company was founded in 1983 and has been in business for over 35 years. Restaurant Business reported on HomeTown Buffet and its sibling chainsTahoe Joe's, Old Country Buffet, Ryan's, Fire Mountain, and Furr'sin April 2021. Share. On October 1, 2010, Nebraska couple Chris and Heather Gage dined at an Old Country Buffet in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Hometown Buffet has been unable to keep up with these changes and will likely continue to decline until it is eventually forced to close its doors for good. While Round Tables dining rooms have been closed during the crisis, its been able to maintain its sales through takeout and delivery, according to CEO Paul Damico. Sign up here. On top of all that, Tristano said many buffets occupy spaces with a very large square footage, which means higher rent. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you. The Food and Drug Administration has released a series of best practices for restaurants, which include discontinuing self-serving stations that require customers to use common utensils or dispensers, like salad bars and buffets. This buffet chain serving endless pizza, salad, and dessert has been going strong for more than 60 years and still has dozens of restaurants spread across the South. 13 reviews $$ - $$$ American. Buffets LLC, also filed bankruptcy at the same time. Reopening regulations and consumer skittishness could force changes in thesubsector that had been in decline for some time. St aint been right since they closed down HomeTown Buffet, one person tweeted in Sept. 2020. According to an article published by the San Antonio Business Journal, no HomeTown Buffet locations remain open. Below are the latest Hometown Buffet menu prices. Nation's Restaurant News is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC. Four Hometown Buffet, Ryan's and Old Country Buffet restaurants are now closed permanently, their San Antonio-based parent company announced Friday. xhr.setRequestHeader('Content-Type', 'text/plain;charset=UTF-8'); The company was founded in 1983 and has been in business for over 35 years. Two HomeTown Buffets, one Ryan's, and one Old Country Buffet are now buffets closed for good. He's also been a section editor and copy editor for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs. However, in recent years, the company has been struggling to keep up with the changing landscape of the restaurant industry. "Recovery has been steady, but slow, and some franchisees will not be able to continue to operate without additional financial relief.". Five locations reopened as "AYCE Marketplaces" in summer 2020. Have no fear; weve compiled a list of all the Hometown Buffet locations. document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', function() { 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. However, one thing is clear: the days of the all-you-can-eat buffet may be numbered. In the past year, weve seen similar closures from Souplantation, Sweet Tomatoes, and Ryans Grill, Buffet & Bakery. var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); Clearly there's no shortage of carbs in this country so, what gives? According to its website, there currently are 14 Ryan's buffet locations in 10 states. Yes, they do have a wide variety of food choices at Old Country Buffet but they don't really specialize in any of it. Similarly, many other buffet concepts shut their doors, including Sweet Tomatoes, HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet and others. 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