The Buffet Industry Pre And Post Pandemic
The word buffet was not always about the foodstuff. It’s a word that denotes the French sideboard stuff from which the food was served. Over time, the buffet came to denote the style of serving meals in place of the furniture. The equal for the buffet is a smorgasbord and the Finland terminology, brannvinsbord.
Although the buffet we know today is a less formal dining style, it was a fancy thing back in the sixteenth century that was enjoyed by the bourgeoisie and merchants. Buffets rose in fame in the 1900s, and by the time they reached the depression-stricken America’s shores, the buffets changed their center on quantity over quality with the business thought of having to offer fewer tables.
The most well-liked restaurants are concentrated in Las Vegas, but let’s say you live elsewhere other than Las Vegas; you can always visit amazing buffet locations such as Borgata buffet or Golden Corral.
The best buffet rated in the United States is presently Bacchanal Buffet in Las Vegas. But it is your first time visiting a buffet location! Should you just dig in? Before you begin gorging on all the delicious food, there are some things you ought to know about buffets.
There Are Four Types:
- Station-type buffets permit people to be served the drinks, and they can fill their dishes at the buffet line.
- Simple buffets are self-service, and after consuming, waiters clear the tables.
- Deluxe buffets have waiters serve the soups, appetizers, beverages, and salads.
- Modified deluxe buffet upgrades beverages being offered to comprise dessert and coffee and the cutlery is already set on the table, people can get the dishes themselves.
Now that you know how the buffet types work (and save yourself the embarrassment of waiting to be served just in case you visit a simple buffet), you can begin feasting. It is that easy! Sadly, coronavirus has closed many businesses, particularly the businesses which tend to have more people.
Buffeterias are no exception, and among other restaurant types, they have the highest risk of spreading the virus because of everybody touching everything at the table. The Federal regulations particularly have rules that prohibit self-service operations.
Drinking stations at many fast food locations weren’t spared, and the use of common dispensers or utensils is also on the list. The main concept of the buffet is the usage of such ways, and such regulations have put a wall around it.
On 8 May 2020, California-based Souplantation announced the permanent end of the business, all ninety-seven restaurants, and lay off 4400 individuals. It was not the first time they closed locations, but this time around, COVID-19 did Souplantation a bad one.
So Is There Any Possibility For Buffets To Actually Recover?
The buffet-style restaurants’ closure culled the players in the competition. Although the closure was because of the federal regulations, a few have taken the chance to change their business plans, relabeling their businesses to the all-you-can-eat format while still offering the default dining service in the non-buffet locations.
The sales performance of the Golden Corral after the regulatory closure was remarkable as well, and it being one of the leading buffet businesses, specifies that buffets phasing out aren’t gonna happen anytime soon unless another COVID-19 wave needs another shutdown.
How Did Golden Corral Do So Well Despite All This?
Golden Corral actually ended up serving buffets and advised people to shift to take-outs only. To decrease the overall risk of infection among the customers and employees, Golden Corral closed the majority of its locations as a business strategy and for minimizing losses.
The major threat to the buffet industry isn’t, in fact, the Covid-19 pandemic but the increase in the delivery service. Even if the buffet industry lives without the virus, individuals switching to door-to-door service will be a clear drawback.
It’s been the trend for the previous decade. With the arrival of the net and increased interaction with applications that offer convenience, the majority of businesses are closing and changing restaurants to working kitchens, shopping centers to warehouses, and even clinics into online consultation sites. The COVID-19 pandemic has surely changed the business environment.
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