There was a time when taking the family out for dinner often meant heading to a buffet. You could fill your plate with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, pizza, salad, desserts, and whatever else caught your eye, all for one price. For families with different tastes, that made buffets an easy choice.
The buffet business was already struggling before the pandemic. Between changing dining habits, rising operating costs, competition from fast-casual restaurants, and shifting expectations around food service, many chains had been closing locations for years. COVID-19 made things even harder, particularly for restaurants built around large self-serve food stations.
Today, some of the names that once filled shopping centers and roadside signs have disappeared, while others have been reduced to a handful of locations. Here are 13 buffet chains and buffet concepts that bring back plenty of memories.
Old Country Buffet
For many families, Old Country Buffet was the go-to spot for a filling meal without having to agree on one particular dish. At its peak, the chain had hundreds of locations across the U.S. and served familiar comfort foods such as fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and an extensive salad bar.
The restaurant was part of Buffets, Inc., which eventually became Ovation Brands. Financial problems, declining customer traffic, and competition from other types of restaurants made things increasingly difficult for the company.
The Old Country Buffet locations that so many people remember are now gone, leaving behind memories of crowded dining rooms and plates piled high with comfort food.
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Ryan’s Steakhouse
Ryan’s Steakhouse began in 1977 and became known for combining a steakhouse menu with a large buffet. The chain eventually grew into one of the better-known buffet brands in the country, with locations serving everything from roast beef and fried chicken to vegetables, salads, and its much-loved dinner rolls.
Over the years, Ryan’s struggled with many of the same problems facing other traditional buffet chains. Changing dining habits and financial difficulties led to repeated ownership changes and closures.
Most of the Ryan’s locations that once served hungry families have disappeared, making the chain another familiar name from the buffet era.
Sizzler
Sizzler was a little different from the traditional all-you-can-eat buffet. The chain became particularly well known for its salad bar, steaks, seafood, and combination meals, giving diners a casual steakhouse experience without the price tag of a more formal restaurant.
For years, Sizzler restaurants could be found throughout the U.S. The chain eventually faced declining sales and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2020.
Sizzler has continued operating in some markets, including internationally, but its former U.S. presence is a shadow of what longtime customers remember.
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Hometown Buffet
Hometown Buffet was another familiar name under the same corporate umbrella as Old Country Buffet. Its menu centered on classic American comfort food, with large selections of meats, vegetables, salads, desserts, and other family favorites.
The chain expanded widely during the buffet boom, but its parent company struggled financially as fewer customers chose traditional buffet dining.
Many Hometown Buffet restaurants closed over the years, and the familiar locations that once served endless plates of comfort food have largely disappeared.
Ponderosa Steakhouse
Ponderosa Steakhouse offered a combination that appealed to plenty of hungry diners: steak and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Customers could order a steak or another entrée and then head to the buffet for salads, vegetables, pasta, desserts, and other sides. The chain became particularly familiar in the Midwest and eastern parts of the U.S.
Ponderosa’s U.S. footprint became much smaller over the years, though the brand has continued in some locations and international markets. For many former customers, though, the name brings back memories of filling a plate before sitting down to a big steak dinner.
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Sweet Tomatoes (Souplantation)
Sweet Tomatoes, known as Souplantation in some markets, took a different route from the traditional meat-and-potatoes buffet.
The chain focused heavily on salads, soups, breads, pastas, vegetables, and other fresh foods. Its extensive salad bars made it popular with diners looking for lighter choices without giving up the all-you-can-eat experience.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the company especially hard. Parent company Garden Fresh Restaurants permanently closed all Sweet Tomatoes and Souplantation locations in 2020.
The brand has since returned in a limited form under new ownership, but the widespread restaurant chain that many customers remember is gone.
Pizza Inn Buffet
Pizza Inn became a favorite for diners who wanted an affordable pizza meal with plenty of choices. Its buffet allowed customers to sample several pizzas instead of committing to a single pie.
The chain also became known for its dessert pizza, including its cinnamon-based offerings, which had a loyal following.
Pizza Inn still operates restaurants, but the large buffet presence that once made the chain familiar in many communities has become much less common.
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Fresh Choice
Fresh Choice built its identity around a lighter take on the traditional buffet. Customers could load their plates with salads, soups, vegetables, breads, and other fresh options.
The California-based chain gained a loyal following, especially among people who liked the flexibility of a buffet without a menu dominated by fried foods and heavy entrées.
Competition, rising costs, and other business pressures eventually took their toll. The remaining Fresh Choice restaurants closed in 2012, ending the chain’s run.
Valentino’s Grand Italian Buffet
Nebraska-based Valentino’s has been a familiar name to generations of customers in the region. Its restaurants became known for pizza, pasta, garlic bread, salads, and other Italian-American favorites.
The buffet format made Valentino’s particularly popular with families and groups who wanted plenty of choices at one table.
The company has faced its share of changes over the years, including closures and shifts in its restaurant footprint. While the brand has continued in some form, many of the locations longtime customers remember are no longer around.
Duff’s Famous Smorgasbord
Duff’s Famous Smorgasbord was once a major name in the buffet business, particularly in Pennsylvania and other parts of the Northeast.
The restaurant offered diners a huge selection of familiar dishes, giving families plenty of reasons to come back for another plate. Its large buffets were part of a time when abundance was a major part of the dining experience.
Duff’s eventually disappeared as competition increased and the traditional smorgasbord format became less popular. For former customers, the name still brings back memories of enormous dining rooms and plates loaded with a little bit of everything.
Buffets, Inc.
Buffets, Inc. wasn’t a restaurant customers visited for dinner, but the company played a major role in the buffet industry.
The company operated several familiar brands, including Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, and Ryan’s. For years, its restaurants helped define the large-scale American buffet experience.
Financial troubles eventually forced the company through bankruptcy proceedings and several rounds of restructuring. Its corporate story is closely tied to the rise and decline of the buffet chains that once filled shopping centers across the country.
The history of buffet dining is explored further in this look at the history of buffet catering.
Cicis Pizza Buffet
Cicis became famous for one simple promise: unlimited pizza at an affordable price.
For families, the appeal was obvious. Kids could grab several slices, adults could try different varieties, and nobody had to worry about ordering enough food. The buffet also included salads, pasta, breadsticks, and desserts at many locations.
The chain survived the pandemic, but its footprint became much smaller. Many restaurants closed, and the enormous Cicis presence that customers remember from the 1990s and 2000s is no longer what it once was.
Some locations are still operating, but longtime fans may have to travel farther to find one.
Golden Corral
Golden Corral is actually still around, so it doesn’t belong in the same category as chains that have completely disappeared. Still, the company has closed many individual restaurants over the years, and some customers have watched their local Golden Corral vanish.
The chain remains known for its large buffet, steak offerings, breakfast service at select locations, and famously extensive dessert selection. Its restaurants can still be found across the country.
For people who grew up visiting Golden Corral, a closed hometown location can feel like the end of an era. The chain itself lives on, but many of the specific restaurants people remember from childhood are gone.
Buffet dining may never disappear completely, but the huge chains that once made all-you-can-eat restaurants a routine part of American dining have become much less common. Rising costs, changing tastes, food-service concerns, and competition have all played a role.
Still, anyone who remembers Old Country Buffet, Ryan’s, Sweet Tomatoes, or a weekend trip to Cicis probably remembers more than the food. These restaurants were places where families celebrated birthdays, kids filled their plates with dessert, and nobody had to worry about whether everyone at the table could find something they liked.
