Breaking news.
Buffets are back.
That's according to new analysis of the earnings at various buffet
chains across the country.
So let's get into the details here.
Apparently they're making a comeback in Vegas, but
we'll get to that in just a moment.
Apparently, according to the New York Times, in their very poetic language,
they argue that buffets speak to an American dining culture that prizes
consistency, value and choice.
They can make people of modest means feel rich if just for an hour or two.
They provide culinary roadmaps for recent immigrants and
culinary tourism for those who haven't traveled much.
A buffet can be as communal as a church picnic.
Kim Severson needs to calm down a little bit, okay?
People like them because there's a lot of options for relatively little money.
>> I've never been to church picnic and I love buffets.
So you're never gonna not get me to go to one.
But let me break this down.
But she's not wrong about the initial description.
I don't know about consistency.
>> Yeah, consistency is an interesting word in the context of buffets.
>> Yeah, you don't often get consistency in buffets, but
the other two are definitely true.
One is choice, I never get why people don't always go to a buffet.
>> Because they can be gross.
People are gross.
That's the problem, right?
You want to consume food that has been handled by as few people as possible.
>> Yeah, I hear you.
>> People love to get their hands on everything.
>> Yeah, I hear you, I hear you.
And I'm going to come back to that.
I'm going to come back to it because actually it's part of this story.
But overall, why would I just want to eat one thing if I could have 100 things?
And of the 100 things I don't have to eat all 100, I can pick and
choose in tiny portions of like eight things.
>> It's called tapas.
>> Yeah, it's called tapas, mezzas, appetizers-.
>> Mezzas are the best.
>> Yes, and what is a buffet but tons and tons of mezzas?
>> No, that's not what buffets are.
>> Buffets are like full blown, like entrees.
>> Who cares?
I don't have the whole things.
What am I going to get filled on one thing?
I'm not a rookie when it comes to buffets, okay?
>> What's your strategy?
>> My strategy is I take tiny little pieces.
You know what I do?
I start with the desserts, okay?
>> Just desserts?
>> Okay, so I take a tiny bit of dessert.
Not the full dessert, just a little, get a taste, okay?
Start your palate out nice and fun way.
Then I go and I get little pieces of everything.
>> Little nuggies.
>> That's right.
And I fill my plate up with like ten different things.
But why wouldn't you?
Why wouldn't you?
So it's individual choice for the person, but
it's also when you think about a family, it's critical because it's hard to agree.
What do you want?
>> And the kids love the buffets because it's got ice cream, it's got this.
They could get the pizza.
They can get the mac and cheese, right?
Depending on the buffet.
Obviously, the parents also love it because they can get the crab legs, etc.
So it's got options.
It's got all the food instead of some of the food.
I just can't understand why you wouldn't love buffets, except for
the point that Ana made, which then goes to the heart of the story.
It turns out the high end buffets are doing really well in their back, but
the COVID killed a lot of the low end buffets, which people were worried about.
>> So Hometown Buffet, which was a chain of buffet restaurants,
ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2021 because COVID did a number on them.
There was a period of time when buffets were kind of out of style in Vegas, but
they're experiencing a reemergence.
So the Bellagio buffet came back, and it's apparently doing really well.
Same with the buffet over at Caesar's Palace.
Golden Corral, for instance, is doing really well right now.
The chief executive for Golden Corral said this, the media called buffets
zombie companies, we didn't know we were dead, but we're the comeback kids.
Year to date, we're running about 20% up, so they're doing well in that regard, too.
And look, not only do you have many options when you go to a buffet,
it's also a more cost effective way to go out to eat with a family.
>> Come on, guys, think about that.
For, like, $20 a Golden Corral, you could have, like, 18 different kinds of food.
So I just don't see the downside.
In fact, this is a great phenomenon because it weeded out the ones that
weren't that good, right?
>> Look at you, invisible hand of the market.
>> Yeah, but it kind of look,
I'll tip my too strong coffee to Hometown Buffet, okay?
>> By the way, my dad loved Hometown Buffet.
>> I love Sizzler.
>> Sizzler, does sizzler still exist?
>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've seen it in a couple of places, and
I even went recently.
I took the family and I'm, this is where we used to go.
And they're, really?
I'm, yeah, what are you talking about?
This is great.
But the strong have survived the weak ass buffets, and
it's not like I haven't gotten sick at a buffet, let's keep it real, okay?
So the concerns are not unwarranted, but
it was always at a super low end buffet, right?
>> So remember how earlier in the show I said that people in New should
probably avoid doing irresponsible speculation?
>> Yeah, I do remember that.
>> Yeah, so I'm about to engage in irresponsible speculation.
>> Fun. >> But let me be clear, it is speculation,
and I have zero evidence of this.
The only evidence I have is how I feel anytime I eat at a buffet.
I think they put something in the food to make you full
faster because I'll take a few nibbles of something and
I'm, I'm so full, I can't walk.
>> Okay, so that's an interesting speculation, but
that might be because you're a rookie.
As they explained in this New York Times article, they're, immigrant families and
you are from an immigrant family, but maybe you didn't get this,
that have a culture where they are more resource constrained, so
they're really worried about it, and I come from one of those cultures,
got to eat everything on your plate, when they go to a buffet, they warn the kids,
don't eat the rice or the noodles that'll get you full quicker, okay?
It's a trick.
Eat the other stuff so you could eat more food, okay?
So maybe you're a buffet novice and that's really your problem.
>> I would go straight for the mac and cheese.
>> See.
>> So that makes sense.
But I have had many a nights with mac and cheese and I can eat a considerable
amount of it without feeling the way I do after eating mac and cheese at a buffet.
>> Yeah, I don't believe your speculation, but I really enjoy it.
>> Right, it's a good conspiracy theory.
>> I want to say one more thing about this.
So I think that there's one other factor, and they mentioned it in the story, too.
As poetic as she was, she did a thorough job to this story, okay?
And they had good facts too.
For the high end ones like the ones in Vegas,
it kind of makes you feel rich, right?
>> It does, it does, because look,
the only time I've enjoyed a buffet has been at Vegas.
And it's because if it's a good buffet in Vegas, a high end buffet,
you've got crab leg, mountains and chocolate fondue fountains, I don't know.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, it's special.
>> 100%.
Look, it's not like it's cheap, it's 80 bucks roughly.
But look, if you live in La, okay?
80 bucks is two sandwiches and a couple of drinks, right?
But for the $80 you get your money's worth because you feel like a king.
You're, look at all this amazing food.
>> You know that some people wait as long as two hours in line to get into those
Vegas buffets?
>> That's the only problem.
No, I can't do that.
>> I think that that is an abomination.
And in America, especially at a place like Vegas, you're drowning in food.
You can't turn a corner without being confronted by a food product, okay?
No one should be waiting to eat anywhere in Vegas.
>> So there's somebody who works at TYT who has read a book on the best way to go
to Disneyland, the most efficient route through the park, okay?
To get the most amount of rides in your time.
I could write a book on the most efficient way to eat at buffets, okay?
You're not going to be a rookie and go in the morning on a weekend, are you?
Please tell me you're not doing that.
>> You got to go on a Monday or maybe a Tuesday,
but Wednesday it starts to get a little dicey at the amusement park.
>> Look, read my book, tyt.com search justice, okay?
It's not in that book, but
still one day [LAUGH] justice is coming because the buffets are back.
Justice and the shrimp are coming.