The Buffet Is Back in the U.S., From Las Vegas to Small Southern Towns

The buffet got creamed during the pandemic. Even when diners crept back into restaurants covered in hand sanitizer, a model of eating based on shared serving spoons and food seasoned with the breath of strangers seemed like a goner.

But the all-you-can-eat buffet, that symbol of America’s love of choice and penchant for excess, will not be denied. From piles of crab legs at swank Las Vegas casinos to pans of fried chicken in small-town Southern restaurants, the buffet is back, baby.

“The media called buffets zombie companies — we didn’t know we were dead,” said Lance Trenary, the chief executive of Golden Corral, whose 360 restaurants offer unlimited helpings of 150 different items for less than $20. “But we’re the comeback kids. Year to date, we’re running about 20 percent up.”

At a time when inflation has driven up the cost of both groceries and restaurant meals, the renewed popularity of an inexpensive chain-restaurant buffet could be explained as a value proposition. But at the most lavish spreads in Las Vegas, where dinner can cost $79.99 before cocktails and tax, reservations remain hard to come by and waits can stretch to more than two hours.