The chains website shows 11 open locations, a stark decline from the 28 that K&W hadbefore the pandemic. On February 6, 2018, the parent company of Hometown Buffet, Ovation Brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. About See all 4221 South H Street Bakersfield, CA 93304 For customers hungry for a more authentic dining experience, HomeTown Buffet invites you to come as you are and experience a unique restaurant concept See more "High quality food at affordable prices in a family atmosphere. Scott left in 1989 to start HomeTown Buffet, but the two chains merged in September 1996. VitaNova said it manages all store-level and corporate operations for ToGoKitchens.com, Zios Italian Kitchen, Sushi Zushi, the Tahoe Joes steakhouse brand, and Furrs AYCE Marketplace. See all (3) Enhance this page - Upload photos! The typical limited-service buffet concept saw unit count decline 10.3% last year, according to, Golden Corral added safeguards to its buffets, its company stores were closed altogether, Bojangles makes no bones about its future, Pollo Tropical starts the year off with more customers and better profits, For Wendy's, keeping pace with competitors is harder than it looks, Jack in the Box reaches a 'turning point' in its bid for growth, Chevys Fresh Mex owner adds 2 more brands to portfolio. Customers began picking up their purchases immediately after the auction closed at the Loma Linda restaurant, where a sign at the entrance reading open for takeout was true for one last time. ToGoKitchens.com, which offers brands owned by VitaNova. You may not think buffet when you think Pizza Hut, and thats exactly what the company wants. The CEO of Global Franchise Group, Round Table Pizzas parent company, told Marketplace that Round Table may discontinue its salad bar and pizza buffet permanently. Now he thinks we will see the removal of salad bars, and in place, prepared food thats packaged and portioned. As with almost every one of our peers, buffet restaurants took the brunt of the loss of sales during the pandemic and as such, the path to success requires hard choices to be made, including the rationalization of our overall footprint, said Jason Kemp, co-founder and CEO of VitaNova Brands, in a statement this week. 11 reviews. Restaurant Business reported on HomeTown Buffet and its sibling chainsTahoe Joe's, Old Country Buffet, Ryan's, Fire Mountain, and Furr'sin April 2021. The guidelines also mention buffets that use common utensils or dispensers.. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you. I think its a permanent change. Hometown Buffet in Beaverton, OR WEAK MANAGEMENT "Was suppose to have a business meeting at this branch in Elk Grove California Arrival-ed at 10:45." Hometown Buffet in Elk Grove, CA complete buffet "very nice buffet.. had a late lunch, paid the lunch price at 215, then at 300 dinner items were p." Hometown Buffet in St Louis, MO Despite their best attempts, it's not easy to keep it warm enough or cool enough to avoid bacterial growth. The future of Hometown Buffet is uncertain. Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. As with many restaurants on this list, HomeTown Buffet has faced bankruptcy in the past. Most closed early in the health crisis, including Souplantation, which declared bankruptcy in May. Overall the spaces are more efficient for a high volume of people, but staff and patrons alike have plenty of room to prepare and scarf down some legit Southern style pot roast and fried chicken. These closures signal a change in the way that people are choosing to dine out. Restaurant Business reported on HomeTown Buffet and its sibling chainsTahoe Joes, Old Country Buffet, Ryans, Fire Mountain, and Furrsin April 2021. The coronavirus could well change the buffet concept as we know it, forcing a different service style or eliminating buffetsaltogether. Its a design challenge for them to reinvent how they do things, and it may move away from the bulk production that theyre used to doing, Susskind said. Although Hometown Buffets closure will be a setback for the 1,800 employees who will be losing their jobs, it is not expected to have a significant impact on the overall restaurant industry. 988 Goodman Rd, Horn Lake, MS 38637", https://web.archive.org/web/20050315003554/http://www.buffet.com/, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VitaNova_Brands&oldid=1138835566, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 22:20. You can buy the iconic soup bowl on Amazon. Note: Cheapism does not accept or publish guest blog posts. Try our delicious grill. Pizza Huts dine-in restaurants, most of which feature menu service and an all-you-can eat buffet, used to be the cornerstone of the chain, but theyre quickly fading into oblivion. Anthony Wedo, the CEO of Old Country Buffet's parent company, Buffets Inc., was even on the CBS hit show Undercover Boss in 2013 in an effort to reinvigorate the company's name after it fell on hard times. Some businesses are getting creative in order to survive, with one St. Louis grocery store converting their salad bar into a mini-booze bottle buffet. Fresh Acquisitions and its affiliates are party to 71 restaurant leases, which include 57 locations where restaurants have ceased operations, the company said in a filing with the bankruptcy court seeking relief from its rent burden. We've already established that Old Country Buffet isn't a great choice for anyone who's watching their diet, but the chain has a reputation for being unhealthy in a whole other way, too. In 1995, Hometown Buffet was acquired by Food Management Partners, a large operator of buffet restaurants. I act like Im OK, but deep down, I miss HomeTown Buffet, another Twitter user wrote in May 2021. The buffet chain, which was founded in 1983, was once a staple of American dining, but it had fallen on hard times in recent years. Hometown Buffet is a buffet-style restaurant chain with locations across the United States. Hometown Buffet business hours are from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm. Here's a look at all the once-mighty buffet chains that have recently closed locations or disappeared altogether. Eater reported that Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (which cost $100 million to design) is allocating $2.4 million to remodel the area, with changes that will affect food counters and service equipment. April 21, 2021 Ben Coley. Why did HomeTown Buffet close? New service models have been developed to comply with variations in local guidelines and provide our guests an enjoyable Golden Corral experience. Get the best food tips and diet advice If the family does go to church and eat afterward, they're probably eating atChipotle afterwards. The company faces stiff competition from other buffet chains, as well as from fast casual restaurants that offer made-to-order meals. Yet buffets might be in a bind for a while. It might be premature to say that the buffet is dead, but it seems likely to go into a coma for a while. Lines and paragraphs break automatically. Auction Nation has held recent auctions at Hometown Buffets in other states. Golden Corral created a new floor plan for all its restaurants a couple years ago. Buffet-style restaurants have always been popular among families and budget-minded diners. As a result of these factors, Hometown Buffet has closed many of its locations in recent years. Alex Susskind, a professor of food and beverage management at Cornell University, said he does not think buffets can survive under the methods they used to operate under. Trying to find a Hometown Buffet? The restaurant also has a take-out option. Undercooked chicken is no joke. The new owners immediately began closing down locations, and by 2013, the chain had shrunk to just over half its size. Hometown Buffet lists 20 locations in California on its website, where it describes the liquidated restaurants as reopening soon. A majority of these are reopening soon. For this reason, a couple craving steamed pork dumplings would probably prefer to get them at that specialty dumpling hole in the wall than at the local all-you-can-eat buffet. Reservations are not required unless dining as a group or large tour. According to its website, there currently are 14 Ryan's buffet locations in 10 states. to reopen as many Furrs as possible, contingent upon pandemic restrictions and landlord negotiations, she said. Yet another pizza buffet thats had a rough go of it, Gattis is primarily a Southern chain that prides itself on freshness, and most locations have game rooms to draw in kids. Find a Hometown Buffet near you or see all Hometown Buffet locations. VitaNova shut down the locations in March when the coronavirus pandemic began. Those are just IP that came alongside the transaction., Latest Company & Industry Overviews News and Updates. By 2017, another poll indicated that the rate of weekly church attendance was down to 38 percent. But it, too, was already struggling, and was ultimately brought down for good in parent company Fresh Acquisitions bankruptcy. Theres a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. Remember when you used to have to put on pants to go pick up take-out at your favorite restaurant? VitaNova Brands, which manages Fresh Acquisitions restaurants through an agreement with the company, is providing a debtor-in-possession loan of $3.5 million, and said it would focus on operating the Tahoe Joes and Furrs AYCE Marketplace banners going forward. The concept of the buffet, which was once popular among restaurants, is now declining in popularity. It is unclear if the chain will be able to survive in the long term. While Tristano said this crisis doesnt necessarily spell the end of the buffet as a concept, he foresees many of these restaurants closing. Nation's Restaurant News is part of the Informa Connect Division of Informa PLC. At one point the only thing Americans loved more than eating, was eating at a buffet. 3790 SW Hall Blvd, Beaverton, OR 97005-2050 +1 503-627-0336 Website Menu. Takeout can reduce that cash-burn rate, but even with recent increases, traditional dine-in concepts are not making up for those lost sales. I dont know if anything will ever go back to what the norm was before, Buenrostro said. Hometown Buffet is a chain of restaurants that offers a buffet-style meal including all-you-can-eat food and drink. Buffets, like many other businesses throughout the U.S., have closed out of safety precautions, and may not be able to return once the COVID-19 crisis is over. Ultimately, all restaurants are hoping they can make it to the day when they can reopen dining rooms and customers return. 52 Hometown Buffet Locations in California (CA, US) City Shortcuts: Anaheim Eureka Fresno Moreno Valley Salinas San Leandro Hometown Buffet in 92802-3015 at 1630 W Katella Ave Hometown Buffet in 92806-4104 at 2190 E Lincoln Ave Bakersfield Hometown Buffet Bell Hometown Buffet Calexico Hometown Buffet Cerritos Hometown Buffet Chico Hometown Buffet Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. And any diet-conscious person who does eat at Old Country Buffet will likely cost the chain money, so that's not any better.