12 Chain Buffets That Have Disappeared

Why order one dish when you can dine on a dozen? That’s the idea that buffets bring to the table. These restaurants embody the very ideals of the United States itself, representing the freedom to chow down with a “more is more” mentality. While buffets have a more innocuous history, originating in Sweden to promote taste testing, American buffets encourage eating as much as you want of whatever you want until your waistline is tight and your stomach is satisfied.

Another major cornerstone of America’s culinary culture is the chain restaurant, which transcends state boundaries and allows citizens across the country to enjoy the same quality meal regardless of distance. The first chain restaurants were strictly fast food, but the concept expanded into fast-casual dining in the 90s, promoting healthier eating. Blend the two, and you’ll get the affordable and indulgent experience known as the chain buffet, which exists both in fast food and casual dining establishments.

Despite the hype, these buffets have struggled with rising costs, operational issues, and sanitation over the years. Many met their final fate through the decades for one reason or another. For many other cherished all-you-can-eat chains, the pandemic hit was the final nail in their coffin. Though some buffet chains are making a comeback, most only live on in our memories.

The experience of biting into a crunchy, juicy fried chicken tender at Popeye’s is unmatched. The addictive and heavenly flavor of the chain’s food is hard to beat, which is why it’s thrived since opening in 1972. It’s also why the company decided to grace its clients with the ultimate treat, an all-you-can-eat buffet.

At its height, the Popeye’s Buffet was a free-for-all of tacos, spaghetti, and fried chicken all for less than $10. Even when the business cut back the buffet to its menu items only, the trio of chicken, mac n cheese, and buttery biscuits was so delectable that Anthony Bourdain himself couldn’t help but praise it and dine at the Lafayette, Louisiana, location for three days straight.

Unfortunately, nothing crispy gold can stay, and what was already a rare treasure couldn’t remain afloat in a cutthroat world. To the dismay of loyal Popeye’s patrons, the last remaining buffet didn’t survive COVID-19. Despite rumors of reopening, an employee confirmed it was permanently gone.

Old Country Buffet was once the pinnacle of bottomless dining, a haven where hungry customers could dine on heaps of American fare for mere dollars. Under the heat lamps, there wasn’t just dried-out meat and potatoes — there was the gluttonous American dream.

But time kills some dreams, including that of Old Country Buffet. In 2014, the company was hit with a salmonella lawsuit, unveiling to the public severe health issues that the buffet chain caused. Doubling down on its disease-prone dishes was the growing wave of health-conscious eaters that preferred grabbing a bowl of poke or cooking at home rather than gorging on every salty food under the sun.

There were only so many setbacks the business could take before folding. For this chain, it was the pandemic’s restrictions that marked its end. In 2021, its parent company, Fresh Acquisitions, filed for bankruptcy. Gone are the days when churchgoers lined up, trays in hand, for their post-mass meal — though Steve Harvey still approves of Golden Corral for that.

Heaven was a place on Earth; now, it’s forever inaccessible. The retro paradise known as Wendy’s SuperBar Buffet was like a salad bar elevated to unthinkable heights. Somewhere between the baked potato station, salad bar, and Mexican and pasta sections, customers could find culinary bliss. For under $5, it certainly wasn’t fine dining, but it was enough to inspire Appalachia’s Travis Milton to become a professional chef.

The trailblazer chain innovated the concept of a fast food buffet back in the 1980s. Other companies followed suit, some of which exist to this day, but none are as iconic as the OG Wendy’s SuperBar. Sadly, the buffet officially closed in 1998 for two reasons — employees couldn’t keep up with the management of both the buffet and regular fast food kitchen, and patrons ate more than the business could provide (which, in all fairness, is the whole point of a buffet).

Who wants to be limited to one flavor of pizza? The Eatza Pizza team asked itself the same question, which it promptly answered with a pie buffet, allowing its patrons to guiltlessly scarf down its signature cheesy menu items at the tempting price of $3.99. Like many low-cost buffet chains, its hygiene levels were dubious, causing many Yelpers to vow never to return. But many couldn’t resist the temptation to indulge in doughy goodness, leading the business to thrive. 

Founded in Arizona in 1997, Eatza Pizza reached its peak success roughly a decade later in the early 2000s, featuring 112 locations across various states along with Puerto Rico before rapidly declining. The buffet business shared the same tragic ending as many other pizza chains, albeit far earlier than its competition. The company declared bankruptcy in 2008 when the Great Recession hit and shuttered its doors forever, to the dismay of its insatiable customers.

In a sea of greasy all-you-can-eat restaurants, Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes offered a refreshing yet equally gluttonous alternative. These two establishments owned by Garden Fresh Restaurants were the same restaurant but with different names depending on which region you found them in. Souplantation, along with its sister soup and salad restaurant, matched its healthy and colorful menu with a modern atmosphere that customer Bethany Cosentino of the band Best Coast once described to LA Magazine, saying “It doesn’t have a bleak Sizzler vibe.”

Souplantation was opened in 1978 by a surfer in San Diego. Its success expanded the buffet chain out of Southern California, where it was known as Sweet Tomatoes. Through the years, the love for the brand was unwavering. The company successfully operated 124 locations across the country and considered opening more before its downfall.

Garden Fresh Restaurants survived a 2016 bankruptcy, but the business was no match for the pandemic. Fans across the country mourned the buffet chain’s closing in 2020, which they made evident on social media. However, in an upward turn of events, a sole Sweet Tomatoes location reopened in Tucson in 2023. For now, no Souplantations are in the cards.

If you love buffet restaurants, then there are loads of buffet secrets you’d probably not want to know. One not-so-secret piece of information is that owners tend to leave food out for long periods, hence why eating sushi at all-you-can-eat cafeteria-style establishments is scorned. Still, this never deterred customers from frequenting the Japanese buffet, Todai.

Todai started as an innovative concept in Santa Monica in 1985 when brothers Kaku and Toru Makino first opened the restaurant and shortly after sold it to a Korean partner Hans Kim. Locals and tourists alike couldn’t get enough of Todai’s limitless seafood and sushi, and the chain grew into a mini-empire. However, in the 2000s the restaurant brand faced some financial troubles, and by the early 2010s, virtually all its locations were rebranded as Makino. 

Todai’s website is still running, claiming its restaurants are temporarily closed but set to reopen in December 2017. Though nearly a decade has passed, there’s been no news since. If you were a loyal Todai client, at least there’s still Makino to satisfy your limitless sushi urge.

In its glory days, Furr’s Cafeterias elevated buffet-style dining with a pianist who set a relaxing ambiance in a room of ravenous guests and voluminous servings. Roy Furr opened the first Furr’s in 1946 with a vision to efficiently provide high-quality comfort food. Over the years, the chain expanded into a Southwestern empire that was known and loved from Colorado to Texas.

When Fresh Acquisitions, a subsidiary of VitaNova Brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it shut down nearly all its restaurants — Furr’s included. It wasn’t the first time Furr’s had filed for bankruptcy, but it would be the last. However, some of Furr’s locations weren’t boarded up or sold but rather transformed into AYCE Marketplace. The restaurant’s trademark included the acronym AYCE, meaning “All You Can Eat,” followed by, “Without Leaving Your Seat.” The change was adaptive to the shifting landscape that encouraged social distancing and heightened cleanliness. It was like a buffet, except with table service — something Furr’s ultimately never provided.

Fresh Choice was a refreshing alternative to your standard unhealthy buffet. Here, diet-conscious customers could dig into multiple plate-loads of food almost guilt-free. The West Coast buffet chain launched in 1986 and featured pan pastas, soups, and goods fresh out of their bakery, along with 40 ingredients to customize salads. Fresh Choice didn’t hide behind a phony name — the company truly emphasized freshness, preparing its menu items daily and bringing in produce four times a week.

Most of Fresh Choice’s 48 locations were in Northern California, but some reached as far as Washington and Texas. The company hit its peak revenue in 1995 at $84 million but started rapidly declining soon after, due to a myriad of problems including competition, long lines, and the cost of produce exported out of California. The struggling business trudged forward another decade-plus, but it was no match for the Great Recession and a new generation of young adults that didn’t resonate with buffet-style dining. In 2012, it closed its remaining 20 stores, rebranding the San Leandro and Cupertino locations into restaurants called “California Fresh.” Fresh Choice may no longer exist, but you can dig into all the lettuce your heart desires at various other chain salad bars and at buffet giant Golden Corral.

Ask your average Southerner or Midwesterner about Ryan’s, and they’ll likely reply with a nostalgic smile. The joint featured all the traits of your average buffet chain, complete with fluorescent lighting, booths, and metal trays ready to be filled with endless supplies of honey chicken wings and rolls. Even though it wasn’t particularly special, Ryan’s provided reliable service and affordable menu items.

The restaurant chain opened its first location in 1978, priding itself on being like a home away from home that always made you feel “warm, welcome, and well fed.” It boomed through the 80s and 90s and was awarded various coveted titles like the “Top Family Steakhouse in America” for a decade straight. In 2006, the business merged with Buffets Inc., which was later purchased by Food Management Partners (FMP) in 2015. In 2020, FMP was managed under VitaNova Brands. 2020 was the year of misfortune for restaurants, so the business shift didn’t last long, and Ryan’s closed for good that same year.

California used to be home to the all-you-can-eat chain HomeTown Buffet. The locale served your standard American comfort cuisine like meat doused in gravy and fluffy mashed potatoes, along with carrots and green beans to balance it all out. Despite serving various buffet foods you should avoid, the Golden State establishment was loved for its neighborhood-friendly atmosphere and consistently hearty menu items.

HomeTown Buffet operated under the umbrella company VitaNova Brands, which also owned Furr’s, Ryan’s, and Old Country Buffet. The parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2020 amidst the COVID crisis. While other restaurants could adapt to restrictions with delivery service, buffets struggled. It wasn’t the first time the quartet of restaurant chains, which had shuffled owners various times, went bankrupt. For instance, VitaNova had survived a 2016 bankruptcy following a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Unfortunately, the pandemic marked a larger threat, and HomeTown Buffet, along with its sister restaurants, closed their doors for the final time.

At the turn of the 20th century, Horn & Hardart offered a state-of-the-art dining experience called the Automat. It all started in Philadelphia when Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart changed the dining game in 1902, introducing an inventive way to dine by placing some coins into a slot and receiving whatever lunch food you desired. Back in the day, it was unheard of to not have to wait for a server to take your order and bring out your meal. Thanks to Horn & Hardart, customers could have whatever hot plates they wanted in an instant. It wasn’t quite a buffet, but it was certainly close.

In 1912, the high-tech culinary experience reached New York. Hoards of dapper guests filled the Art Deco locales to order one or more of over 400 items. But with the takeover of drive-thrus in the 1950s, the crowds started to slim, and the inflation of the 1970s caused the nickel machines to all but go extinct. The chain struggled to stay afloat in the modern world it wasn’t born into, and it managed to continue for another 20 years as more of a historical relic than a restaurant. But on April 9, 1991, the final Horn & Hardart location shut down forever.

History fanatics and buffet lovers shouldn’t lose all hope, though. One diehard fan is on a mission to resurrect the vintage chain from its culinary graveyard. A visit to the Horn & Hardart website will reveal its plans to reopen a new space that reflects its elegant past. Philadelphia entrepreneur David Arena is behind the initiative and is determined to reinvent the self-service style restaurant to fit the modern climate.

If you’ve never been to Texas, you’ve probably never heard of Luby’s. The Southern fast-casual chain spans generations of Texans and has a history dating back to 1947. Named after its founder, Bob Luby, Luby’s Cafeterias expanded from a meager San Antonio restaurant into a 100-million-dollar empire by the 1980s, boasting locations in Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.

Technically, Luby’s is designed more as a cafeteria than a buffet. Nevertheless, the venue was among the first to allow lower-income Texan families to go out and enjoy a meal with the family. In an interview, “House of Plenty: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Luby’s Cafeterias” co-author Carol Dawson stated that in small-town America back in the day, your only dining options were high-priced restaurants and the saloon, and “you couldn’t take your mother-in-law to a saloon.” That’s where Luby’s saved the day.

Sadly, Luby’s signature LuAnn platter consisting of square fish filets and creamy mac and cheese wasn’t enough to keep the lines forming and cash flowing. The chain already struggled to stay afloat over the decades, but it was the pandemic that caused the majority of its shutdowns. Its future is uncertain, but for now, the family-friendly locale is one of the few chains that still offer free kids’ meals, operating some locations in Texas only.