Buffet chains close hundreds of locations nationwide

The Covid pandemic made Americans reconsider whether they wanted to eat at self-serve buffet restaurants. In a period when people wore masks, carried hand sanitizer, and kept six feet between themselves and others, the idea of using a spatula to serve themselves food that someone else had just used fell out of favor.

Food Safety News laid out the reasons buffets can make people sick.

"Some of these people just went to the bathroom in the restaurant and did not wash their hands. Others just coughed or sneezed into their hand or blew their noses because of a cold or flu. And few, if any, washed their hands before grabbing the same serving spoon you just grabbed," the website shared.

That puts everyone eating at the buffet at risk.

"Then you use your hands to eat, introducing buffet-borne bacteria and viruses into your body. It's enough to make you sick, and it often does," the website shared.

During the pandemic period, many buffets closed, while others switched to having workers serve the food. It's a situation that has continued in the post-pandemic period as self-serve buffets have fallen out of favor.

Buffet chains have closed restaurants, filed Chapter 11

• Multiple buffet chains collapsed after their parent company filed for Chapter 11, including Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan's, and Furr's, with most locations permanently closed afterward, according to TheStreet.
• The parent companies (Fresh Acquisitions / Buffets LLC) had roughly 90 restaurants pre-Covid, but nearly all shut down during bankruptcy restructuring, leaving only a handful of locations, reported FSR Magazine.
• Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes permanently closed all 97 locations after filing for bankruptcy in 2020, eliminating one of the largest buffet concepts in the U.S., according to WRAl.
• Golden Corral survived but saw major contraction, dropping from about 490 locations to roughly 300 during the pandemic, with franchisee bankruptcies forcing closures, reported Eat This, Not That.
• Many independent Chinese buffet restaurants have closed or downsized since COVID due to rising food costs, labor shortages, and declining demand for self-serve formats, pressures that have hit buffet-heavy cuisines especially hard, according to FSR Magazine.
• Buffet restaurants were once a major draw in Las Vegas, but the pandemic forced widespread closures and led casinos to rethink the model due to high labor and food costs and changing guest behavior, TheStreet shared.

Health is not the only reason buffets close

Health concerns have been responsible for the closure of many buffets.

"Let's put it this way." Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert Allison Agwu said. "Buffets can be a cesspool for bacteria and viruses." Is it any wonder people are going elsewhere?

In Las Vegas, however, the number of buffets has fallen for economic reasons. The Las Vegas Strip will soon have only seven buffets when the MGM Grand closes its buffet at the end of May, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

"Up until the 1980s, when gaming still represented 75% of the average Vegas casino's revenue, and everything else accounted for only 25%, approximately 35 Strip casinos had their own buffets," Casinos.org reported.

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In those days, casinos used cheap buffets in order to keep gamblers on their property. That revenue picture, however, has flipped.

"Casinos made 75% of their revenue from high-end dining and entertainment, and only 25% from gambling - a ratio that persists today," the casino website added.

Americans still want buffets

As the pandemic becomes more of an unpleasant memory than a current reality, Americans have been more open to the idea of eating at buffets.

"Today's all-you-can-eat concepts are redefining buffet experiences, reflecting a growing appetite for interactive, social dining and global flavors at approachable prices. "Yelp searches for all you can eat buffet near me have jumped 252%, with Asian cuisine driving much of this revival," Yelp shared in its 2026 Trend Forecast.

The buffet comeback is also being fueled by another post-pandemic problem.

"Early on, staffing shortages pushed operators to rethink how to deliver quality service efficiently, and buffets offered a practical solution without compromising the guest experience," Chef David Matson of The Ellie Beach Resort told Delish.

Inflation and the rising cost of living have also helped the comeback of buffets.

"The buffet concept has grown in popularity due to its inclusivity and value for money," said James Sun, owner and director of all-you-can-eat restaurants Butchers Buffet and Gyuniku in Sydney's CBD reported the NY Post. "With a fixed price upon entry, diners can pay upfront and enjoy the freedom to eat without worrying about hidden costs.

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