--- title: "All-you-can-eat your heart out: Buffets are back - The Hustle" description: The pandemic almost put buffets in a grave, but they’re back to being a gravy train. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/777095377-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Buffet_20230628220915.webp --- # All-you-can-eat your heart out: Buffets are back ![Sara Friedman](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Sara Friedman](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/sara-friedman) [Sara Friedman Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/sarafriedmannn) Published: June 30, 2023 Updated: October 11, 2023 If you’ve ever found yourself inexplicably clutching a plate piled high with crab legs, freshly cut sirloin, lo mein, and a miniature cheesecake, you might be familiar with all-you-can-eat buffets. ![buffet](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/777095377-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Buffet_20230628220915.webp?width=595&height=400&name=777095377-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Buffet_20230628220915.webp) Buffets are both glorious and a little gross, and, per [*The New York Times*](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/26/dining/buffet-restaurants-us.html), they are very much back. #### **Warm up those heat lamps** The communal dining style took a hit during the pandemic, when food left vulnerable to strangers’ sneezes suddenly became undesirable. But the pull of bottomless fried things is strong, and Americans are back in the all-you-can-eat saddle: - [Visits](https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/05/business/golden-corral-cicis-buffets/index.html) to leading buffet brands Golden Corral, Cicis, and Pizza Ranch were up 125% this March compared to January 2021. - Inflation and rising food costs have pushed price-conscious consumers to prioritize value, according to analysts. - Even luxury Las Vegas options, like Caesars Palace and the Bellagio, are seeing increased demand for upscale, pricey smorgasbords. Buffets also tug at the heart strings of nostalgic Gen X and millennial customers who grew up attending birthday parties at Pizza Hut and their local Chinese buffet. #### **The buffet is not only back…** … It’s better than ever. The restaurants that survived the pandemic have become more nimble, using tech to track consumer habits, anticipate needs, and minimize waste, per *NYT*. Speaking of staying nimble at the buffet, a tip: Focus on high-value foods and avoid filler carbs that’ll only slow you down. (A Ziploc baggie in a coat pocket goes a long way, but you didn’t hear that from us.) Topics: [Restaurants](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/restaurants) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Quiznos’ off-key Spongmonkeys are back](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/464136233-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-quiznos-spongmonkeys_20230723220935.webp) ### Quiznos’ off-key Spongmonkeys are back - ![Restaurants are hopping on the subscription bandwagon](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1628870465-HS-News-Brief_2023-03-16T001233.167Z.webp) ### Restaurants are hopping on the subscription bandwagon - ![Gross pranksters hit sushi sales](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/911311136-HS-News-Brief_2023-02-15T023032.654Z.webp) ### Gross pranksters hit sushi sales - ![Why do restaurant workers fund a lobbying group that keeps their wages low?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/189664282-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-19T011742.482Z.webp) ### Why do restaurant workers fund a lobbying group that keeps their wages low? - ![The world’s best restaurant is unsustainable](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/253727868-HS-News-Brief_2023-01-10T003017.565Z-scaled.webp) ### The world’s best restaurant is unsustainable - ![The Cheesecake Factory defies all odds](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/238051046-final_size-cheesecake-factory_20221229001411.webp) ### The Cheesecake Factory defies all odds - ![Restaurant service fees don’t always check out](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/231000508-HS-News-Brief_2022-11-03T001730.063Z.webp) ### Restaurant service fees don’t always check out - ![Sorry, night owls — restaurants are closing early](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1292150460-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-30T225400.203Z.webp) ### Sorry, night owls — restaurants are closing early - ![The long, strange saga of the $100m deli](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/2104227147-HS-News-Brief_2022-09-28T220746.199Z.webp) ### The long, strange saga of the $100m deli - ![The economic indicator that uses egg-and-cheese sandwiches](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/205457934-HS-News-Brief_2022-08-23T022203.413Z-scaled.webp) ### The economic indicator that uses egg-and-cheese sandwiches Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Sara Friedman", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/sara-friedman" }, "datePublished" : "2023-06-30T21:51:24.000Z", "headline" : "All-you-can-eat your heart out: Buffets are back", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/777095377-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Buffet_20230628220915.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/all-you-can-eat-your-heart-out-buffets-are-back", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Sara Friedman", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/sara-friedman" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:18:52+0000", "datePublished" : "2023-06-30T21:51:24+0000", "headline" : "All-you-can-eat your heart out: Buffets are back", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/777095377-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-Buffet_20230628220915.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```