Coronavirus: The slow death of the American all-you-can-eat buffet

[marmar]

(BBC) Buffets - from the humblest hotel breakfasts to the grandest casino banquets - are struggling to stay afloat as new health restrictions come into place and wary diners eschew the self-serve dining tradition.

As many buffets go out of business across the US, others are innovating and trying desperately to keep the business model relevant and appetising.

What is the problem?

Susan Yin, the owner of Jack's Fresh in downtown Washington DC, tells BBC News that her average sales have dropped nearly 90% after they re-opened two months ago following a two month closure.

Jack's Fresh, which specialises in Asian food and American sandwiches, is currently making around $500 (£398) per day, down from an average of $3,500 before the pandemic, she says.

"No people work in this area," says Mrs Yin, referring to the commuters that have mostly been working from home since March. "It's still very quiet." ...........(more)

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53410931

[irisblue]

1. I loved my neighborhood Chinese buffet for years

Lunch time the place was packed, cuz good, hot, fresh, not costly.

I'll never feel safe going back again.

[zeusdogmom]

18. Same here ☹️

[LisaL]

2. Buffets are a problem during a pandemic.

Numerous people are touching the same serving utensils.

[lark]

3. Another type of business that is no longer viable.

Buffets are definitely a thing of the past. Hope the people that worked there can find other employment because don't think this will come back and flourish anytime in the next few years.

[Takket]

6. Exactly

I used to love buffets until I figured out how viruses and bacteria’s are transmitted. There was one I still went to but only got what I could eat with a utensil. The serving spoons are only as clean as all the hands that touched them Before you.

If buffets want to stay in business they need to suck it up and pay someone to stand there with gloved hands to spoon what you want into your plate.

[louis-t]

23. Gloved hand and hazmat suit.

It would seem to be the only solution. Adapt or go out of business.

[SoCalNative]

28. That's what they do on cruise ships

when there is a viral outbreak on board. Crew is re-assigned to do everything from handing you a plate and silverware to serving at all buffet stations and pouring drinks.

It's not rocket science.

[Laelth]

31. That takes a lot of cheap labor.

Cruise ships have that. Your local, stateside buffet does not.

-Laelth

[tanyev]

4. Oh, right, the breakfast bars in hotels. :(

I always appreciated having a complimentary breakfast available in my hotel when I traveled. I'm old enough to remember having to find a restaurant for breakfast when traveling. That took more time and it was easy to order more breakfast than you really needed. Funny how many things this is going to change that we're not even thinking about yet.

[MissB]

8. We stayed at a hotel recently

Instead of a breakfast bar, they had a grab and go brown bag section.

First thing on the table was a brown paper bag and a plastic bag containing disposable utensils/napkin.

They had hot breakfast sandwiches on some days. Always a container of yogurt, bottle of juice, pre wrapped pastry, individual fruit and sometimes packs of granola bars. Sometimes they’d have little containers of granola to go with the yogurt. None of it required shared utensils to grab.

Obviously not the same as a waffle maker, but still they were attempting to provide something.

[marmar]

9. Was the self-serve coffee station still there?

[MissB]

22. Nope

[tanyev]

12. Good to know, thanks.

It's going to be awhile before I feel comfortable traveling again, so they'll probably have it all worked out by then.

[MissB]

25. We also had to notify them

by 9 am if we wanted the room to be serviced (we choose not to have it done during our stay).

Then if we did choose to have the room cleaned, we needed to let them know when we left the room because they wouldn’t go in for 3 hours after that point. Then we couldn’t go in for 3 hours after they were done.

All the rooms had individual air conditioning units which is something to look for when booking a hotel.

[Jirel]

16. It's not going to change these things.

This pandemic is temporary. We WILL find a way out of it, just like so many African countries fought their way out of the dark days of the Ebola epidemic. It may take a year or two, but life will return to normal.

People like breakfast bars. There will be breakfast bars again. And air travel. And international tourism. All of it.

[BusyBeingBest]

5. We picked up a Red Lobster curbside pickup order

the other day because I had a crazy craving for coconut shrimp--nearby was the Golden Corral, closed down--never been there. Buffets are not usually my thing, being a germaphobe long before coronavirus, but there was one I really enjoyed: Jodeans in Yankton, South Dakota. Hope they can survive.

[gollygee]

11. I was taken to a Golden Corral once

It was a petri dish. There were kids sticking their hands all over everything and in the chocolate fountain.

[BusyBeingBest]

32. That's about what I would've expected...

[Aristus]

7. Great. We're trading the image of the 400lbs Olde Country Buffet patron

for the gun-crazed "I need a manicure" fuckhead.

We're not going to come out of this well...

[Voltaire2]

10. I think if the buffets add karaoke business will return to normal.

[louis-t]

24. Haaaa!!!

I can just see a 400 lb guy with a drumstick in one hand and a microphone in the other, wearing his red MAGA hat....."If ahhh leave here tomo-o-o-ro-o-o-w...."

[Maru Kitteh]

38. *

His hairy pink belly bursts forth from between his sagging, WalMart elastic band "athletic" shorts and his faded, hole-worn, grease-stained Hillary for Prison T-shirt.

[Jirel]

13. Big deal.

You don’t do buffets during a pandemic.

Yes, we know that over 25% of restaurants and even more bars will close permanently because of the pandemic.

Fundamentally, it does not matter, nor does it mean the “death” of buffets.

We will be out from under this. It may be a year. It may be 2 years.

New businesses will open after this crap is over. Buffets will reopen - people like them. This hand wringing over businesses with models that can’t survive a deadly pandemic is nonsense. So many important things to worry about, from not killing people stupidly to fighting the accelerated drive to dictatorship, but media cares about the temporary end to non-viable restaurant models.

Whatever.

[marmar]

15. What's the big deal? It's not like the BBC isn't covering the other news.

Most people can walk and chew gum at the same time. It's a story among many thousands on DU every day. Where is the "hand-wringing"? Chill.

[Jirel]

21. LOL.

It’s “important” enough to cover with oh-so-much draaaaaaahmaaaaah by the BBC. It’s important enough to someone to post it here as news.

That’s hand-wringing. The “death” *sob* of American-style all-you-can-eat buffets. A non-story elevated to tragic proportions.

Chill.

[brooklynite]

14. The bigger issue is the fate of any lunch trade restaurant in a CBD

High rental costs and potentially a permanent diminishing of office workers.

[marmar]

17. True.

[greenjar_01]

19. Coronavirus has only exposed how gross buffets were from the beginning

Kinda like how the first few Star Wars prequels demonstrated how bad the original three movies actually were.

[marmar]

20. True on the first part.....Oh hell no on the Star Wars statement.

[louis-t]

26. I remember being at a buffet with my uncle.

We went to the men's room and both did the hand wash, then use the paper towel to open the door thing. As we were standing in line at the buffet, I laughed and said "Ok, now what?"

[fescuerescue]

27. Slow death? More like a heart attack.

The buffet is dead.

[SoCalNative]

29. I really hope not

if only for one of my favorite dining experiences for decades: the high end, wonderful Sunday brunch on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

30. My kids' favorite place to eat was Sweet Tomatoes

Which has a buffet type set up.

I enjoyed it a lot as well.

Sadly it appears they will not be reopening.

[AwakeAtLast]

33. They could be revamped

Put the food behind glass and have an employee put your choices on your plate. Kind of like cafeteria style, but more personalized.

[madinmaryland]

34. Yes. Self serve places are dead, but we will be back to cafeteria style. Not a bad thing.

[Awsi Dooger]

35. I ate thousands of comped buffets in Las Vegas

Often two per day.

I have to believe they'll survive. The focus is on masks, not hands. Once there is a vaccine people will be surprised at how soon normalcy restores.

These days I have Golden Corral a few times per year and likewise pizza buffets. If buffets do cease to exist, at least I have a good memory of enjoying Pizza Hut buffet a week before quarantine.

[AwakeAtLast]

36. From this day forward

I will most likely wear disposable gloves to make my choices if I ever eat at a buffet again.

[pstokely]

37. some might go cafeteria style

but they won't be calling themselves cafeterias since most associate cafeterias with schools