Old Country Buffet has been an American strip mall staple for years.
But despite the promise of delicious cheese biscuits awaiting you behind those ubiquitous
red letters, Old Country Buffet has definitely had some setbacks.
And we're not just talking about broken froyo machines at the lunch rush.
In 2006, Old Country Buffet's parent company merged with Ryan's Restaurant Group to create
the country's largest buffet chain.
But it turned out their eyes were bigger than their stomach.
Just two years later, Old Country Buffet declared bankruptcy, leading to the closure of many
of their locations.
“Nothing's on the menu tonight at one of the four Old Country Buffet restaurants in
the valley."
“Its parent company shut down suddenly this week.”
It wasn't enough.
In 2012, they declared bankruptcy again, and were forced to close more restaurants in an
attempt to right the ship.
But the ship sank anyway, as the chain declared bankruptcy yet again in 2016.
By February, 2019, the official Old Country Buffet website listed just 17 open locations,
compared to a peak of more than 350 less than a decade ago.
"Old Country Buffet was forced to close 90 stores nationwide.
That company is set to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy."
So why did Old Country Buffet suddenly drop off a cliff?
The basic answer is that tastes have changed.
First, fast casual dining is in.
And while it's hard to imagine a dining experience faster and more casual than a buffet, the
notion of fast casual has become associated with chains like Qdoba and Sweetgreen, which
are more upscale and modern.
Second, those places also tend to offer options that are healthier.
Though it's possible to find healthy options at a buffet, it also just feels pointless:
you go to a buffet because it's all you can eat, but if you aren't planning on eating
that much, what's the point?
You might as well go somewhere that prioritizes quality over quantity.
And along those lines is the third factor, which is the farm-to-table craze.
Supplying a chain with bulk ingredients is difficult enough to do; trying to make sure
those ingredients come from sustainable, local farms is difficult.
Yet for environmentally conscious consumers, that's a growing consideration.
Finally, more and more folks are choosing to stay home and enjoy a little "Netflix and
chili" rather than dine out.
That's providing a boom for restaurants that deliver, or offer takeout.
But you can't really do either of those things with a buffet, meaning Old Country Buffets
might just be on the wrong side of history.
Buffets have always been a family favorite for after church so it makes sense that with
the decline of church attendance in the U.S. follows the decline of buffet frequenting.
But with more families opting to sleep in on Sunday mornings, it's probable they're
just eating lunch at home.
According to Gallup polling, the 42 percent of adults polled said they attended church
in 2008.
By 2017, another poll indicated that the rate of weekly church attendance was down to 38
percent.
Four percent may not sound like that, but it's 10 million adults no longer attending
church — which means they're no longer dragging their kids with them to Old Country Buffet
for post-sermon loaves and fishes.
Beyond all the specific reasons people are avoiding buffets, there's an even simpler
explanation: everyone knows buffets are gross.
“This doesn't look like chicken."
"Oh, you're right!
This isn't chicken, this is chicken!
Want some?!"
In today's increasingly health conscious world, many diners are wary of eating food that was
prepared… sometime… and has been sitting out in bins for… some time?
Communal food troughs are fine for animals, but for people, it's a recipe for illness.
Who knows who else has touched that food?
And the more educated people get about healthy eating, the less they want to go to a buffet.
Plus, even when the food is fresh, it's not necessarily the best.
Buffets are places that, as a rule, specialize in nothing and offer everything.
But do you really want that when you're picking a restaurant?
Or do you want to go to the place that is known for being great at making that one thing
you're really craving?
Yeah, that's what we thought.
“I'll have what I'm having!
I'll have what I'm having!"
Contributing to Old Country Buffet's many woes was the case of Chris Gage.
In 2010, Gage and his wife ate at an Old Country Buffet in Wyoming.
Two days later, Chris experienced renal failure and septic shock.
He had to undergo multiple surgeries as well as a two week hospital stay, but even five
years later he was still suffering chronic pain.
The cause?
Salmonella from undercooked chicken.
What's worse, just a month earlier, the restaurant had been fined by the government for 18 health
violations due to customers reporting sickness.
The Gages sued Old Country Buffet.
The chain's lawyers didn't even bother coming to the hearing.
Even they apparently knew a lost cause when they saw it.
In their absence, the judge chose to award the Gages $11.37 million — money, and publicity,
the chain really couldn't afford.
Finally, after all of that, if someone still wants to go to the buffet, it turns out there's
simply a more popular option: Golden Corral.
Boasting more stable ownership, Golden Corral actually expanded in 2017, opening seven new
locations to go along with a 3.7 percent jump in sales.
They've also modernized their locations with a recent redesign, which may help explain
why Golden Corral is roping in all the buffet fans left in the lurch as Old Country Buffets
shut down around the nation.
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