All-you-can-eat buffets are back in America thanks to inflation

• In the United States, “all-you-can-eat buffets”, which have reduced the number of stores or gone bankrupt due to the corona disaster, are reviving.
• The Golden Corral, Cicis and Pizza Ranch are seeing more foot traffic, CNN reported.
• Consumers are looking for “good value” while restaurant prices are rising due to inflation.

All-you-can-eat buffets, which have been forced out of business or reduced in sales due to the corona crisis, are making a comeback.

According to data from Placer.ai, cited by CNN, US buffet chains Golden Coral, Seas, and Pizza Ranch saw a 125% increase in foot traffic in March 2023 compared to January 2021. It says.

Many buffets were forced to close or limit numbers early in the pandemic. But now that the pandemic has calmed down and inflation has made eating out more expensive, these buffets are becoming popular again.

Golden Coral, which has about 400 locations nationwide, said in April that sales in 2022 were up 14% from 2019, the company told the Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN). In 2020, the company introduced takeout and digital ordering as many people “stay home.”

However, CEO Lance Trenary told NRN when the company asked customers about their interest in “face-to-face” and “all-you-can-eat.” He said.

In the United States, restaurant prices are rising due to inflation, and all-you-can-eat buffets are attracting consumers looking for “value”. “People always say, ‘Affordable prices are great,’ and we’ve tried to keep our prices low by not raising our prices or reducing or reducing the quality and variety of our buffet,” Trenary said. speaking.

Golden Coral is one of the buffet chains that survived the pandemic. Some buffet chains have filed for bankruptcy or closed, such as the company that operated Furr’s Fresh Buffet and Old Country Buffet.

However, some buffet chains have made a comeback. Salad buffet provider Sweet Tomatoes — which also ran a restaurant under the name “Souplantation” — filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after a steep decline in foot traffic, prompting all of its stores to file for bankruptcy. closed. However, it appears that at least one Sweet Tomato store has reopened in Tucson, Arizona, Restaurant Business reported in March.

And C’C’S, which is based in Texas and filed for bankruptcy in 2021, also saw 10.4% more sales in 2022 than in 2019, president Jeff Hetsel told the Franchise Times in January. ing. The chain said it is building bigger entertainment rooms in its stores as the number of customers has returned.

Buffets are back.