Golden Corral is making huge changes to its iconic restaurants

Golden Corral has built its reputation on endless trips to the buffet, but now the restaurant chain is betting its future on much more than all-you-can-eat dining. 

The nation’s largest buffet chain – which opened in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973 and now has around 350 locations – has revealed that it is experimenting with smaller restaurants, travel plazas, airport locations, college campuses and even entirely new restaurant concepts as it tries to make dining more affordable while reaching diners ‘wherever they want us to be.’

The shake-up comes as families continue to feel the squeeze from inflation, with Golden Corral acknowledging that while customers still see the chain as good value, many simply can’t afford to visit as often as they once did.

‘Golden Corral still absolutely owns value by 10 points versus our compeтιтive set… but value and affordability are different,’ CEO Lance Trenary told FSR.

According to the company, some of its most loyal diners used to visit around 70 times a year – roughly once or twice every week – but many have since cut back because of тιԍнтer household budgets.

‘We love you. We love your food quality. Your value is fantastic. I just don’t have enough money to eat with you 1.5 times a week anymore,’ Trenary said, describing the feedback the company has received from customers.

Rather than cutting costs by trimming menu options or lowering food quality, Golden Corral says it is sticking with around 150 freshly prepared items every day, including its popular sirloin steaks, despite rising beef prices and higher operating costs.

‘We’re not going to follow the path of some other buffet chains in the past that have tried to cheapen their menu during these high inflationary times,’ Trenary said.

Instead, the chain is leaning into targeted promotions, including its recently launched America 250 campaign, which features rotating discounts through the end of 2026. 

Golden Corral has built its reputation on endless trips to the buffet – but now the restaurant chain is betting its future on much more than all-you-can-eat dining

Current offers include children aged 12 and under eating for $2.50 with the purchase of an adult meal on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, alongside discounted drinks and takeout meals.

But perhaps the biggest change is where customers may soon find Golden Corral.

The company says it’s testing a range of new restaurant formats, including a smaller 7,500-square-foot buffet prototype – significantly smaller than its traditional 10,500-square-foot restaurants – to make expansion into more locations easier.

One of the new prototypes is due to begin construction in Baytown, Texas, while another restaurant is being built inside a former Party City store in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Golden Corral has also discovered it can successfully convert empty restaurant buildings, including former Red Lobster and TGI Fridays locations, into new buffet restaurants.

The chain is also eyeing airports, college campuses and travel centers after trial locations inside Pilot travel plazas in Maryland and Virginia generated more than $5 million in annual sales despite their smaller footprints.

‘What we’re basically trying to do is have the Golden Corral brand meet our guests wherever they want us to be,’ Trenary said. ‘If we’re a buffet company, we ought to have a buffet of options.’

The nation’s largest buffet chain opened in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973 and now has around 350 locations

The shake-up comes as families continue to feel the squeeze from inflation, with Golden Corral acknowledging that while customers still see the chain as good value, many simply can’t afford to visit as often as they once did

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Golden Corral also revealed it is working on a brand-new fast-casual restaurant concept after an earlier experiment called Golden Corral Favorites failed to resonate with diners.

The company found customers loved the food but were disappointed because they expected an all-you-can-eat buffet.

‘When people hear Golden Corral, they think buffet,’ Trenary explained.

The replacement concept will still focus on comfort food, convenience and family dining, but the Golden Corral name will be dropped entirely to avoid confusing customers.

Expansion continues elsewhere too.

The chain currently has six new restaurants under development across the US and Puerto Rico, with openings planned in states including Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas. 

A new Spanish Fort, Alabama, location is also moving ahead after the company purchased the former Briquettes restaurant property for $2.7 million.