The Untimely Passing of the American Buffet
A lot of people hated them — but you can’t deny what they meant to many of us
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I used to think it was a character flaw not to eat at buffets.
I’d be with a group of people at a Sunday brunch buffet, and that one person — always one — would invariably ask, “can I get a menu?” It was a personal affront. You’re too good to literally break bread with us? It reeked of bougie-ness. But after 2020, I don’t think I’ll ever eat at a buffet again. I once saw those people as contrarians. Now I’m joining their ranks. And it’s breaking my heart.
Buffets came into fashion in America in the mid-20th century, starting in Vegas as a way to overfeed gamblers and keep them in one place longer with the hopes they’d hang around the casinos and spend all of their money. The buffet skyrocketed into mainstream American popularity during the ’80s when everything was about being bigger and better — or, rather, when being bigger meant better. We had Western Sizzler, Shoney’s, Ryan’s, Ponderosa, Luby’s, and any host of regional spots on every corner.
Buffets always walked a razor’s edge, though. Profit margins were slim, and while…
