The Decline of Old Country Buffet...What Happened?

[@mutley0130]

My grandma got bored during retirement and went back to work at Ryan's. She had her regulars that would come in at least once a week and specifically sit in her section. She retired once again when her and grandpas health was starting to decline. The restaurant she worked at closed not long after. Years later after she passed many of her regulars came to her funeral. Everyone loved her for her great service and firecracker attitude.

[@realleon2328]

she sounds like she was a very lovely woman

[@athisio836]

Ryan's was great but just like any other restaurant the quality varies depending on who is managing and running it. A good example is a wendys in flushing MI is absolutely terrible but if you drive 45mins south to hartland mi the wendy's is great.

[@ispoilers9535]

I heart your grandma.

[@fulcrumsee5968]

​@@athisio836so true.

[@donchoq]

THAT is what is gone from modern life. The personal interactions. I miss those days!

[@Gutch220]

jeez, $7.39 for a dinner buffet is insane. Those days are O.V.E.R.

[@mangmerciless9606]

Now it's $70.39

[@lois3779]

2024 it's now 1/2 your mortgage or pay check.

[@bluemanwelder]

back when I found an OCB close to me back in 2017 or 2018 can't remember when it was 12 dollars for lunch. I would love to have that back.

[@IceTTom]

2:01 Try $2.19 😳

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Not if it's OCB.

[@chonga6442]

My favorite Ryan's memory (that I can talk about) was taking a friend from Uganda to the La Fayette, Indiana location. He was on his first visit to the USA. He finished his food and was just sitting there. I told him he could go again. He exclaimed "sure?" And he shot out of his chair for a second run. Kind of adorable.

[@bettyconfettii]

Thanks for sharing this memory it made me smile

[@GamingYoshi64]

​@24kgoldplatedvermeilThe restaurant Ryans

[@ozymandias6211]

haha this is an awesome memory!

[@CZsWorld]

This was one of my favorite places as a kid. My ice cream machine creations were unparalleled. RIP

[@opalwisdom9780]

Hey fancy seeing you here.

[@gedaman]

“Do you like hot fudge sundaes?”

[@Mouradin1224]

Wow two documentarians together?

[@thorpeaaron1110]

Lol.

[@Laz3rCat95]

Yes making sundaes with the ice cream machine was one of the highlights of my experience as a kid too!

[@aurenkleige]

Every time Company Man says "Leveraged Buyout" that one Spongebob Meme appears in my head screaming "how many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?!?"

[@VinceLyle2161]

"It's okay if we accumulate a massive amount of debt. This restaurant chain will be popular forever! What could possibly go wrong?"

[@MOBMJ]

"out of my way, out of my way, can't you see he's going to kick my butt" 🤣 love that episode

[@shanekeenaNYC]

I love the young people. *blink*

[@295g295]

​@@VinceLyle2161 Golden Corral is lasting longer. ...

[@295g295]

​​@@VinceLyle2161 Golden Corral is lasting longer. ... .. and my local Chinese buffet & hibachi stir-fried.

[@NotoriouslyNoah]

Before she passed away, my grandma used to take my cousin and I here when I was little. We used to write prayers on napkins and tie them to balloons. (to send them to heaven lol) I remembered really liking this place when I was a kid.

[@MGmirkin]

Were the prayers "please don't let the entire family get food poisoning tonight?" :P [/sarc]

[@jaydouglas1090]

The simple answer why it declined is because I stopped working there in 2005.

[@j3dwin]

You were the glue that held the place together.

[@romacarrasco5835]

😂😂😂 dangit!

[@nomadbynature8811]

I was wondering where you were.

[@anonymousYTviewer69]

hmmm.ni started going in 05 BECAUSE you specifically left... just kidding, have a nice day

[@mayonotes9849]

The most valuable asset that they lost forever.

[@Digable.]

Country Buffet is like the Blockbuster of the restaurant biz. R.I.P.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

What did it get replaced by? Desserts mailed directly to you?

[@Jay-jb2vr]

Remember Lone Star Steak House?

[@valdenv]

@@MirzaAhmed89 You pretty much described Uber Eats, so, yeah, in a way.

[@Cooljohn760]

Idk Ryans Buffet might be more like Blockbuster.

[@dcooper86]

@@Cooljohn760 Ryan's Buffet is definitely the Hollywood Video equivalent to Old Country Buffet's Blockbuster. BTW we had Ryan's near us in Akron, OH growing up and eating there was an EVENT for me as a kid lol.

[@cyberherbalist]

My late wife and I used to stop by the OCB in Kent, Washington. A few years after she passed away I thought I would visit that OCB for a memory tour, but it was closed! I was very disappointed.

[@weedragonauts4729]

my condolences on your wife

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Consider yourself LUCKY you dodged the food poisoning bullet!

[@cyberherbalist]

@@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602 LOL, we never got sick from their food.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Like I said... consider yourself lucky. You dodged the food poisoning bullet and lived to remember it.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Consider it a blessing - you're still alive today!

[@justinfowler2857]

"I'm from a private equity firm and I'm here to help," said no one ever.

[@richardmeyersmeyers8123]

Yeah, you beat me to it. Any time you hear "private equity firm" where you work, it's time to look for a new job.

[@brianshaker1885]

How do they get so much business from people, I have no idea?!? It's the equivalent to your parents racking up too much credit card debt and then telling you, "Make sure you pay those credit cards first and foremost!" So how do people KEEP using these businesses?!?

[@piggy310]

More generalities and platitudes please .

[@MathewMaher]

😂😂

[@zachhoward9099]

I honestly wish they were outlawed, they ruin so much for everyone

[@Wythaneye]

At some point the food went from "fresh made in small batches" to "comes in a bag of powder, just add water". That was probably post-2000, the new owners needed to cut costs.

[@jokuakinyele6502]

🤣🤣🤣

[@littlesongbird1]

Yeah my sister used to work there when she was in high school and honestly the food was pretty good back then.

[@davemccage7918]

Hometown Buffet FTW!

[@Matt_bechillin]

My ex at the time swore by old country buffet, I completely rejected the idea of going for over a year because I don’t like it. We went, she didn’t realize they change entirely and was so disappointed 😂 she was expecting home cooking but got TV dinner quality

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

Funny how cutting costs looks good on paper BUT when the lower quality product turns people away CEOs can’t comprehend what went wrong…🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@JustinTime5222]

OCB will always have a special place in my heart, being the place we always went when my Grandfather would take my brothers and I out. We would first go see a movie at Multiplex Cinemas in Merrifield, VA, followed by Zany Brainey toy store, and then to Old Country Buffet. We'd get home and my mom would complain about bringing more toys in. Gramps would always respond "What else is a Grandfather for?!" Love you OCB, thanks for everything!

[@fydennis]

The OCB in Fairfax?

[@lauratroxel24]

That's a beautiful story. Your grampa sounds like a nice one! 💞

[@JustinTime5222]

@@fydennis yep!

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Love you, OCB indeed. Thank you for the ptomaine, scurvy, food poisoning, lavish communicable disease trays and most of all, for putting my waist and wallet on diets from which they never recovered.

[@padamek]

My grandma took me to old country buffet 23 years ago today for my birthday lunch. She told me and I quote "you're in the double digits now and that means certain responsibilities" but it also meant I could sit in the front seat of the car. I'll always love them for that birthday lunch even tho I never went there again.

[@hugovazquez7533]

i hope you ate like a king that day bro

[@larryisntmynamebutyoucanca9625]

Happy birthday!

[@SnowBunneh]

That is so sweet

[@DUKEzors]

Hope you had a good birthday!

[@OswegoWriter]

Happy birthday!

[@likefahrenheit]

The old country buffet where i grew up in upstate NY has since been changed to a Chinese buffet. But one thing they've kept since changing is the Norman Rockwell paintings. I always appreciated that, keeping that bit of OCB still around.

[@erickrobertson7089]

Yes! I remember those prints too.

[@dlxmarks]

That's like the all you can eat Mongolian BBQ near my home. It took over the space from a fish and chips shop 30 years ago but never redecorated. It still has the faux English decor including the glass lampshades with a playing card suit theme.

[@erickrobertson7089]

@@dlxmarks Must have been a former Arthur Treachers restaurant.

[@bryanherrin6276]

Schenectady? My coworker was the regional manager there. Also said some of the downfall internally was changes in conpensation plan for the team.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Arizona boasts the highest percentage of truly nasty restaurants of anywhere in the US. Asian buffets head the list.

[@JonSudano]

My parents used to take my brother and I to the old country buffet in deptford NJ all the time. You couldn't beat the kids price of 7.59 and my dad would just clean out the crab leg troth every time. My favorite was the taco bar with the giant vat of radioactive nacho cheese, and the fact they had strawberry soft serve was amazing to me at the time. The building to this day sits vacant, which is crazy to me because it's a great location and someone could very easily come along and restore it to its former glory, just under a different moniker.

[@Gungho73]

I love reading "radioactive nacho cheese." It's such a specific memory evoking phrase Jon. We also have one here in town noone even buys the building for. It seems people would rather build their own.

[@QueenOfTheNorth65]

I used to LOVE this place. I don’t even know where ANY buffet is anymore. There may be a Golden Corral about 30 miles away.

[@deecee2174]

Buffets are very expensive to manage. As a teen I worked at the only KFC buffet in Canada (I think the US has less than a dozen KFC buffets left). The owner of our KFC had to FIGHT with Corporate on his right to own a buffet. Legal threats and media outbursts helped save the buffet. He doesn't make as much from the buffet compared to bucket sales, that's why Corporate wants his buffet to shut down... But naw, Larry is a Legend and will fight for his right to own a KFC buffet. I swear he is one step away from literally scrapping the Board of Directors hahahaha

[@RT-qd8yl]

@@deecee2174 Now _that_ sounds like a business owner with the customer in mind.

[@jackjohnson833]

Golden Corral is 🔥I go at the breakfast/lunch time (cheat code)

[@Woozlewuzzleable]

I miss Sizzler and the all-you-can eat ice cream bar when I was a kid.

[@John_Locke_108]

Would you like a dime size thickness piece of beef? I've watched the carving station training video so I think I can do the job.

[@donnydonadio1185]

“Did you catch the game last night?”

[@zonkar]

“Alright”

[@trenttuttle603]

Do you like hot fudge sundaes?

[@antifugazi]

"have you tried the lasagna? It's my favourite"

[@monolyth421]

Is it still hot out there?

[@kingpolo1920]

“ Give me that“

[@suga_bop9431]

I don’t know how I missed this one. Old Country Buffet was my favorite back when I was a kid. It was the cheesecake for me. Thank you Company Man for this video ❤

[@ErickC]

My best friend and I used to go there all the time in our 20s. When you were relatively broke, had a huge appetite, and could never decide what you wanted, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

[@ericmikuta]

Good times, good times. We used to catch a buzz and take my buddies Dodge Spirit, and eat ourselves into a food coma.

[@tobznoobs]

yeah i dont know why people nowadays would grubhub for 22 instead of going to old country for 6 bucks. then they'll complain they're broke.

[@amandanichole8648]

​@@tobznoobsdo you... Do you live in real life? You do know you can't get anything at a gas station for 6 bucks anymore right? Like not even a single serve of ho hos. It hasn't been like that for several years even before the stupid Covid shutdown.

[@PatricioINTP]

As a 90s teen, buffets spoiled us. This, Ryans, Maverick, a Shakey's franchise, and SEVERAL Chinese buffets existed where I lived, plus others I know I forgotten. Today only one Chinese buffet is here (with terrible food) and lost everyone else. When Shakey’s stop being a buffet, the owner became an independent restaurant to keep the buffet style alive but closed down. We did gain a Golden Corral and Pizza Ranch. As one in his mid 40s, I want to go out, sit down, and take my time eating. Instead we got the rush and take out of today.

[@gedaman]

99% of Chinese buffets I’ve been to have been awful. The only good Chinese buffet I’ve ever been to had outrageous prices. It seems to be a trend to serve the lowest quality foods at every Chinese buffet including weird pizza and bananas covered in red syrup inexplicably.

[@terranceramirez4816]

@@gedamanthere is one amazing Chinese buffet in Redmond, WA that I always used to love to go to when I still lived in the PNW. But, just as you said, the price was stratospheric.

[@Laz3rCat95]

Yeah a Chinese buffet with bad quality food is all I have in my immediate area too. Golden Corral is more than an hour away.

[@robertfrancois6064]

We had a shakys but I never liked their food

[@DurpenHeimer]

Shakeys...now THATS a place i havent heard about in 20+ years

[@Sabretooth-gz7pp]

I miss Old Country Buffet, we used to have one in East Meadow NY and it was my favorite spot to go. I miss them days 😢

[@prettypic444]

I think the pandemic was the final knock out punch to a dying industry. Most restaurants were already struggling due to the perception of lower food quality and hygiene. Once the pandemic started and people started being hyper-vigilant about these things, there was no way the company could compensate

[@jmill3147]

Hyper-vigilant...more like hyper sheep

[@lindah6954]

I went there after the restaurant banned lifted. Every other table was Xed out from sitting there. 2 weeks later they shut down for good.

[@rabidgoon]

@@jmill3147yes, someone is a “sheep” for not wanting to eat a tray of lukewarm food that an 8 year old just sneezed into.

[@DurpenHeimer]

@@jmill3147 found the NPC

[@jmill3147]

@@rabidgoon No, you're a sheep for falling for the hoax of 2020.

[@Lbsmith94]

My most fond memories are going there with my grandmother who passed away last year. RIP mommom.

[@craigspada1676]

Great video, I have visited all of them when they were around, the best was Ryan's! they were still open in 2010 in Muncie, IN, here is Richmond IN, we have an excellent Golden Corral, it's always busy and the food is excellent! Hey, thank again for the information, you cover companies that were great!

[@MrGoombasticveryFantastic]

I used to work at OCB let me tell you a story and you can make assumptions as to why it failed. Back in the year 2000 I was wheeling a rack of trayed baked fish through the kitchen when the wheels caught a hole in a drainage grate and the cart spilled all the fish into this pinkish puddle of murk so I threw it away. The head manager Paul B asked what happened, I told him and I was instructed to quote take it out of the garbage, wash it off, respice it on the trays to cook. So somebody in Greece NY ate some tainted ass shit that night. Theres more stories but that was by far the worst

[@TheAbstract35]

Gross 🤮 lol

[@Kamakazy0789]

You should get ahold of that Paul guy, and ask if he was proud of those choices back then 😂

[@philmabarak5421]

Should have called he health dept. Should have called the police. Should have shouted it too all the guests..."Don't it the fish."

[@littlesmallworld123]

I like how you said the word quote instead of just using quotations (for dramatic effect, I presume)

[@SeverancePay500]

From Rochester 😂 that’s rough

[@SonnyO]

My school gave me free Old Country Buffet vouchers for perfect attendance in the 90s

[@StarlightEater]

Dang. All I got was a sparkly folder anna sticker pack. I was 16

[@homehere9817]

❤

[@Theodiorr]

Nerd

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

I vaguely remember that. Think they stopped doing it in the 2000’s

[@Zipperskull_]

That's pretty cool :p

[@nwebster84]

I also remember King's Table. It's probably not big enough to get a look on this channel, but it's nice to see it mentioned.

[@neugey]

It will probably seem strange to younger viewers. But before the mid 80's buffets were extremely rare. Not just in the restaurant world, but also hotels, weddings, catering, etc. It'd be a great topic for a documentary or an extended Company Man segment.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

It was common in casinos going back to the 1940s.

[@qbertq1]

I remember buffets and smorgasbord restaurants being all the rage in the early 1970s, at least in the Northeast.

[@roberts3993]

in the detroit area we had several buffets in the late 70's and early 80's sveden house was a swedish themed smorgasboard type of place and duffs which had a rotating buffet gimmick where you stood in one place as all the food would rotate around and come to you. several hotels would offer buffet breakfasts on the weekends as well.

[@beckigreen]

I’m 50 years old and buffet restaurants were around before the mid eighties. Shoney’s, Ponderosa, etc.

[@beckigreen]

Buffets were around before the mid eighties. Shoney’s and Ponderosa were popular.

[@colinw31]

Nahhh this one boutta hit different. old country buffet was like THE PLACE for my lower middle class family hahaha. Every bday

[@bgpoppapump3313]

I hear that, brother!

[@twincitiesdashcam9119]

We had a Saturday morning motorcycle breakfast group that regularly went to the OCB in Roseville MN. Those were some good times.

[@Apollo-js8rn]

When I was a little kid, we used to go back to Omaha Nebraska to visit family. Every single time we went back there we take my great-grandmother out to Old Country Buffet. It was her favorite restaurant. The thing I remember the most is that she would bring a wax paper baggie so she could smuggle a chicken breast home for lunch the next day. The last time I saw her alive I laughed and she looked right at me and put one finger to her lip to tell me to be quiet. I will never forget those memories.

[@burymeinjhenny918]

My friend’s grandma used to steal silverware from home town buffet everytime she went lol

[@booqueefious2230]

Lol my grandma would sneak out rolls in her purse. Apparantly a lot of our grandmas were petty thieves 😅

[@rollacoaster421]

My dad and his side of the family were huge fans of Old Country Buffet. I couldn't get enough of their cinnamon rolls!

[@bettyconfettii]

Yummy

[@earthling1984]

Loved this place as a kid! Only went a few times because my mom did not like it. She cooked most food at home. But the once or twice a month we went out to eat, I always asked for this place! Only happened like once a year lol.

[@ssbmeleefan31]

Ryans was so awesome back in the day. Went there with my grandma every time I stayed with her and I got to eat anything I wanted. Such great memories.

[@cheunk]

used to go to hometown with my family after church every weekend. The fried chicken was incredible and all of the desserts and stuff were great too. We would always go home and fall into a food coma. I always miss that place when I drive by the building

[@beedeepresents]

The chicken!!!

[@aday1637]

Haven't heard that expression (food coma) in years. Do people still have those after over-eating? Food is so expensive now that you'd have to save for a year to have a 'coma' from it.

[@thrasherx2k1]

People these days don’t understand truly how good their food was in the 90s

[@jonlewis3261]

I worked as a delivery driver for a produce company out of Newport News, Va from '96 to '07. I delivered to the OCBs in Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Charlottesville. Later, I did Midlothian, which was a Hometown Buffet if my memory 's right, and Colonial Heights, and Fredericksburg. My wife and I frequented the Newport News store, which was less than a quarter mile away, and we had company meetings at the Hampton store. They always impressed me as having a clean kitchen. The staff and managers were always, across the board, among the better people I had to deal with on a delivery route. We delivered produce and chicken to them, and the chicken cooler always smelled like it had been freshly scrubbed, no off odors. They ordered tons of kale-it was decoration for the bar, you can see some of that in your video. I was sad to see them go. I felt ok eating there since I knew they kept clean. When they went, it was smoke in the wind. Fredericksburg hung on a little longer. Most became Asian buffets. Yeah, sad to see them go. More victims of corporate b. s.

[@PowerUpJohn]

Surprisingly, there is still one in Christiansburg, but I hardly ever see many cars there and wonder how it is staying open? I almost only remember seeing old people there and not much takeout of solid Grade B food.

[@nickhill8612]

​@@PowerUpJohn That's interesting.

[@nickhill8612]

You drove for Newport News to deliver in Lynchburg and Roanoke?

[@koretechx1]

As a kid we went to a Kings Buffet many times. As a teen and young adult I took my girlfriend, eventually wife and kids, to Old Country Buffet. Which, eventually turned into a Hometown Buffet. Almost weirdly, we noticed during the last few years the quality kept going down. The food was less quality, cleanliness went downhill, prices skyrocketed and service became non-existent. The last time we went the food was bland and nasty, we were charged separately for drinks and everyone got a mild case of food poisoning. That was at least 5 years before the pandemic. What shame too because it used to be such a great place.

[@michelletheado]

Funnily enough, I've been to the exact Kings Table shown on that ad. The building is still there, but it's a liquor store now :\

[@grayfiresoul]

You're absolutely correct about these two things: Aside from the quality of service and personability of the staff, which are significant hinge factors for any restaurant's success, ingredient/recipe quality and in-house cleanliness near-cratered by the mid-2010s. I remember seeing this change in Sweet Tomatoes over 8 years.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

There was a great place that opened called Mimi's Cafe, an upper-scale, French-themed family dinner house. Exactly as you wrote above, it began top-notch, but after a brief period of success, it quickly rocketed downhill like a runaway motorcycle, only to crash and burn in bankruptcy court.

[@DaBadNewz]

I'm from San Diego and never knew Hometown Buffet was started here. Always learn something watching Company Man videos!

[@stevewilson5749]

Work in the Chula Vista location for 20 years... miss everyone that I work with! 🤔😔😔 I was involved with the remolding if all the Hometown Buffet's locations (San Diego region)in 2010!

[@robertewalt7789]

We used to OCB often, in NJ, sometimes Hometown Buffet and Golden Coral

[@clvrswine]

@@stevewilson5749 *worked. You WORKED at the Chula Vista location, not work in... you miss everyone that you WORKED with, not work with. You were involved in the remodeling? Or was it remolding if all the locations? Dude. Spellcheck will probably not help you, but please try to have some level of pride.

[@ChadQuick270W]

I remember The King’s Table. We had one in Clarksville Indiana. It later became The Banquet Table and has long since closed.

[@aaronmelson2887]

My grandma would take my sister and I here usually 3 times a month back in the 90s and very early 2000s. My grandma passed away in August 2010 and I no longer found interest in going to any restaurants. But this place definitely brings back a lot of good memories.

[@GlurglePop]

I was on my second tour in Iraq when I somehow heard about their first bankruptcy. I tried my backside off to win the war and get home before they closed down. I wasn’t all that successful as we all know, but I like to think it helped clean up our AO.

[@infallibleblue]

I appreciate you and I hope you have many hot delicious meals.

[@JusNoBS420]

Thank you for your service. 🇺🇸

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

You were luckier than you realize: you survived two battles, Iraq and OCB, both of which could easily have been fatal.

[@guitarhero1346]

I grew up in 2000s Wisconsin and used to LOVE Old Country Buffet. It was a real treat to go here occasionally. Funnily enough I also went on a date here circa 2018

[@jetman80pops]

There was an Old country buffet here in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. Use to go there all the time on my parents came from Jersey to visit. Over the years their food quality really went down. They closed in I believe in 2016 during their 3rd bankruptcy. They didn't even give employees notice they closed the one night and went to reopen the next day only to see the doors chained shut with a notice that it was now closed.

[@Choralone422]

I have great memories of going to Old Country Buffet with my family in the late 80s and 90s. It was a place we went to about once or twice a month, usually on a Friday or Saturday night when my parents did not want to cook. It was somewhere where everyone could get something they liked at a decent price. Sadly, that location closed in the mid 2000s due to the rush of new construction, businesses, and restaurants on the other side of town that were happening then.

[@John_Locke_108]

Was it hot out there?

[@fakeexpert4016]

There is still a few OCBs open, I went to one last year while on a road trip. It was attached to a truck stop gas station and had a long line of ppl, families on road trips and truckers, waiting to go in. It had good quality food and fast service so the line moved fast. They had a separate line for people who wanted to fill up a container/s to go who did want to wait to sit.

[@PhantomCookie87]

I'm in/from Western Washington. Lakewood near Tacoma. We had a few Old Country Buffets but the one I grew up with was in Lakewood near where the mall was and where the towns centre is now. I have so many nostalgic memories of dining with family there...especially my late grandparents. Thank you for this episode!

[@Meridianvlly]

I’m from the Kent area, we had one in a lower income area. I remember going there a lot as a kid, since it was cheap food back then. I don’t think it could ever survive now, because it would probably be overpriced for the same crap food.

[@keithlatimer4433]

I also visited the Lakewood location with my grandparents many times. I have fantastic memories eating there.

[@Jon0387]

I used to go to that location all the time with my grandpa. We used to go to Breakfast on Saturday - it seemed like all the seniors lined up at the door waiting for it to open. He’s pretty disappointed they all closed down.

[@PhantomCookie87]

@@keithlatimer4433 and that building still remains vacant. It's sad because everytime I walk/drive by it, I get major nostalgia with a hint of sadness.

[@SigmaRho2922]

In the early 2010s, a Chinese buffet opened across the street from the Old Country Buffet location near my house. That buffet proved so popular that the Old Country Buffet location got closed in 2012, shortly before the company emerged from bankruptcy for the second time. Three years later, the Old Country Buffet was finally sold and it reopened as another locally owned buffet in 2016, which became more popular than the Chinese buffet, and this continued until mid-2021 when the Chinese buffet declared chapter 7 bankruptcy. Now the buffet that occupies the former Old Country Buffet location is in danger of closing itself due to economic issues.

[@websoldier4576]

The War of the buffets...

[@OffGridInvestor]

Buffet Wars of Somewhere Street

[@thedude5295]

@@websoldier4576 Warren vs. Jimmy. FIGHT!

[@rayelgatubelo]

I know an Old Country Buffet that got abandoned and the building reopened as a very popular hot pot/Korean BBQ restaurant.

[@rctecopyright]

It's ironic seeing these buffets canalize each other

[@MoonMan1267]

Never been to a old country buffet, but we did have a local hometown buffet that closed a couple years ago. Loved going there.

[@dshoultzfox]

I loved Old Country Buffet, I went back in 2010 every single Saturday morning for 3 months at a foster home I lived at. I ate countless strips of bacon, platters of pancakes, and an Olympic sized pool worth of their chocolate milk. Some of my best children memories happened there.

[@imapisces0308]

I loved this place as a kid. I hate that they are gone now.

[@John_Locke_108]

Did you like hot fudge Sundays?

[@Jay-jb2vr]

Everything from the millennial childhood is going up in smoke as the digital age is ongoing.

[@Mshi-]

​@@Jay-jb2vr sad

[@thedude5295]

@@Jay-jb2vr Yeah. As a Gen-Xer, I can tell you that by the time you're 50 the only place most of your childhood is going to exist is in your memories and conversations with old friends. The neighborhood I grew up in isn't even recognizable. It just doesn't exist anymore.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

I grew up in the suburbs outside Minneapolis and we used to love that place. For a few years it was a regular dining spot when my dad took me out running errands and stuff on the weekend. They started going downhill in the mid 90's and we gave up on them eventually. Figured McDonalds was better and cheaper. But I still have some good memories.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

The only thing McDonalds is ever an alternative to is eating out of the toilet.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

@@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602 Today yes. In the mid 90's McDonalds was better. In the 80's it was better than it was in the 90's. And I have been told it was much better in the 50's and 60's but the problem is Boomers LIVE for nostalgia and I am mostly a cynical angry GenX child so I cant trust them.

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

@@Shorty_Lickens Whoa, hold on, bro. EVERYBODY lives for nostalgia! The only advantage boomers have is they remember things in proper perspective, because they were there. I remember when the Egg McMuffin came out. It was a huge sandwich, served in a cardboard box with a buttered top bun, Canadian bacon, cheese and a plastic knife with a little box of jelly. It cost 59 cents. I would eat four at a time. The junk food industry profits handsomely from fraud because nobody has an old 1972 Egg McMuffin lying around in a kitchen drawer in mint condition to compare the modern diarrhea patty with. Any astute consumer in these days of corporate fraud and deceit is "a cynical, angry Gen X child who doesn't trust"! There isn't a corporation in America today I would trust as far as I could throw a Greyhound Bus over my left shoulder in a hurricane.

[@biltrex]

I used to go to Hometown Buffet in California a lot. The thing I most remember loving was the brown gravy. I can't even say if it was good or not, but I sure loved it.

[@TimeisReel]

We used to go there after Church every Sunday. My Mom, loved it. I used to like their stuffing...

[@HectorDeJesus]

OMG! I was just thinking about going there as a kid and as I imaged what it used to look like, at 0:37 you literally had a picture of the EXACT one that I used to go to in Minnesota. That’s crazy!

[@user-yv4mm6bx3c]

Because of the scaling prices for kids, it was actually cheaper for my family to eat at OCB, so when my siblings and I were kids we went there a lot. Prices crept up over the years, but it was still affordable, even for multiple teenagers with big appetites that were paying full price. It's when they started charging extra and separately for drinks and desserts is when we stopped going. It got far more expensive and the food quality seemed to go down. I will say, OCB is the place that showed me I could have a salad that was delicious. So many options! The concoctions my brother would make from all the different drinks. Sneaking peas into my brother's ice cream, because he refused to eat veggies. Shooting the paper off the straws at my sisters. Good memories.

[@zlinedavid]

I remember those “salads”. A sprinkling of lettuce, turkey, ham, bacon, two kinds of cheese, croutons and a gallon and a half of dressing 😂

[@Steve-tr7400a]

I have very fond memories of the Old County Buffet. In the mid-90s I traveled a lot for work, especially in the mid west. A co-worker of mine told me about this place, and we went there for lunch. After that I was hooked. Wherever the job took us, we looked for an Old Country Buffet. What I loved the most was the pay one price, help yourself to everything we have: soup, salad, buffet, dessert, and even the drinks were included in the price. They had soft drinks, iced tea, and coffee! I want to say lunch was no more than $6.00 at the time. We would plan our day so that we could spend a good 2 hours for our lunch break. We unfortunately didn't feel much like working after gorging ourselves at the buffet. I am so very sorry to hear they all closed down.

[@vigothecarpathian1]

Worked at OCB corporate through 3 bankruptcies. Part of the issue was we were so hooked to bankruptcy as a means to settle debt, it became an easy option. However, we got out of paying bills so much that many restaurant vendors wouldn’t do business with us anymore. The economy was a huge factor, but the Affordable Care Act was our death knell. ACA mandated employers with 32+ hours be treated as full time and compensated for benefits, but our entire employment model was the 40 hour part time college student or 2nd family income. We couldnt operate and pay benefits packages to bussers and dishwashers, so all our labor quality tanked overnight as we slashed hours and laid off great people. Another missing piece is FMP. After our 3rd bankruptcy, we had to sell to a hack and slash equity business called Food Management Partners, who immediately liquidated most our properties and then sold off the remaining few to BBQ, netting themselves a profit. OCB became a quick buck for them to carve out intentionally. By the time COVID came around, there wasn’t much left of the business to hurt.

[@timothyconlin1319]

Been waiting all day for this, the little pick me up i need! Thanks for years of coming through every week

[@nmtay]

This one hurt and hit home. A victim of changing times and a casualty of the pandemic. Old Country Buffet was one of my favorite parts of my childhood and their breakfast was top tier. I miss it so much.

[@highwayman187]

Man, I love that training video. It's one of the best vids on KZbin

[@Michael9635]

Genuinely ive never been more sad over a business going under than Hometown Buffet. I had so many great memories there it was definitely the most nostalgic restaurant from my childhood. I remember eating at the last one before they shut down for good. I wish I knew it was going to be the last time.

[@yavisclayborn3382]

I’m so happy you did this one I’ve been went on for you to do it. I was born in 1992. This was the best place that me and my family used to love to go and eat. We had birthday parties, special occasions and holidays. We used to go there all the time I miss this place a lot. and we had a lot of great memories.😔

[@ypw510]

I didn't hear casino buffets mentioned. Those used to be loss leaders for casinos, which hoped to get it back by people coming to gamble. But these days a lot of casinos have discontinued or severely scaled back their buffets. And those that still have them typically charge prices that reflect the actual cost of doing business. I've seen new tribal casinos opening that have no buffets.

[@missadorkablekitty]

My family used to go to Home Town Buffet after church or whenever we had a big family gathering. I used to get cherry coke and add wedges of lemon thinking I created a new flavor. I only did it there, thinking it was a special drink at a special restaurant. When coke came out with all their crazy flavors, I just thought I did it first lol

[@andrewhaywood1262]

I had quite the habit of getting orange Coke at Freestyle fountains before Orange Vanilla Coke came along. I still say that my version was better, only because I think orange CreamSicles are overrated.

[@APPLE1TO1]

Man did I love this place. It now lives on with an amazing training video!

[@alcosteam]

the OCB at 5:50 is or was in the Brettwood Village shopping center at Decatur IL..

[@nunyabsniss1432]

I went to one back in the early 2000s as a kid, and I distinctly remember a chocolate milk dispenser that I was obsessed with.

[@stephenmorrison9707]

Was a Hometown Buffet person (you used the signage of the one I went to, in Garden Grove, CA in the video). Anytime I visited my family while on leave, it was tradition that we visited Hometown Buffet before I went back to my unit. Great memories. Of note; that HTB location, after years of abandonment, is now a buffet again with more of Asian theme menu and busy.

[@musclesforsupes]

I still remember the commercial that started with “Old Country Buffettt!!!!! You better be hungry!!!!”

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

In Cali it was “Old Country Buffet!!!!! You better be healthy!!!!”

[@Jasonwolf1495]

I miss buffets. It was always so nice for when you wanted to go out, but you didn't know for sure what you wanted so here was a bit of everything.

[@kennethscalir3092]

There are still plenty of buffets in the USA

[@Jasonwolf1495]

@@kennethscalir3092 Not where I am. We had old country and that's it. We dont even have golden corral.

[@deecee2174]

I am Canadian and went to the Old Country Buffet 15 years ago, when visiting North Dakota. Best buffet I've ever had. Americans are always treated well with the best food products in the world. Sad this glorious American feast is long-gone.

[@BasedEngineer]

I used to go there all the time as a kid. I always thought the food was ass. I'm glad they went out of business.

[@ducky19991]

If you thought buffet food was the “best products in the world” I would hate to know what kinds of things you’re serving yourself in Canada…? 😧

[@thrasherx2k1]

@@ducky19991 to be fair old country buffet in the 1990s was like having grandma’s home-cooked meals

[@olivercharles2930]

bruh what

[@NoodlesExtraMSG]

if you end up in East Coast, Shady Maple Smorgasbord will reignite those memories

[@theurbangothsite]

There is a place in Lancaster, Pa called Shady Maples that is the biggest smorgasbord around that you need to check out.

[@ShaneFleming2016]

And it's light-years better.

[@Voidrings116]

Let me set the mood. Friday night mom gets home from work. Tells you and your sister to get your shoes on. Get in the car. Go uptown and arrive to hometown buffet. Go in. Your mom pays. Ask for orange soda and grab your plate. First ribs. Twice mac and cheese and third pizza. THAT WAS MY CHILDHOOD!!!!!

[@worldforger9225]

Never forget

[@LeesReviews69]

“Now I have diabetes”

[@치추이]

@@LeesReviews69from one meal? cmon😂

[@MaterialGworlKodi]

Man you just brought back so many memories!

[@CulturalProspect]

That's a great memory. I used to love it.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

I'm old enough to remember the King's Table from back in the '70s. Back then they called it a smorgasbord, rather than a buffet, but same thing.

[@carlarmbruster]

I worked at Old Country Buffet in the restaurants from 1993 to 1997 (short break working somewhere else) and from 1998 to 2001 and then in the Buffets Inc. corporate office from 2001 to 2006. I left just as the Ryan's acquisition was under way. Made a lot of friends there but I was glad I got out when I did.

[@vigothecarpathian1]

Worked there after you left, but I recognize your name. I regularly ran reports and remember your name was in the metadata of the program I used. 😊

[@Janelle-dd5eu]

How was your work there? Where you treated and payed well? We're currently conducting a research about this. I would like to know your feedback as it would help us in our paper.

[@NotTheAverageGamerz]

The old country buffet i used to go to as a kid in the 90's and early 2000's was next to a toys r us. The old counry buffet closed long before the toys r us, but every other store in that shopping center is now closed as well.

[@smogity]

I used to work at Hometown Buffet during the "Glory years" right outta high school between 2000-2002 as a Greeter/ Server. I must say you really see the worst that humanity has to offer working at a buffet, including piling up your plate 2 stories tall just to take one bite and leave it behind to people fighting over the last slice of carved roast beef...good times 😅 but i must say the Burbank, CA location was still doing ok but COVID really was the last nail in the coffin.

[@panzerkorps2122]

I remember that location! Still doesn’t have a tenant to this day.

[@itashious]

Never been to an old country buffet, but I’m from the south and we had our own Ryan’s Ryan’s disappearing kind of makes sense now used to love that place

[@GothVampiress]

my mother worked as a marketer for OCB in the mid-2000s. she did everything from organizing the local events to redecorating the store to dressing up in the bee mascot costume and handing out free meal tickets. i ate there almost every night, since i got a free meal and she raised me alone, and i spent a lot of time there after school in my preadolescence. ours was going sharply downhill then, even with a partnership with the local schools to eat there on field trips, and tanked due to reputation issues. i had always known, after all, not to eat certain dry goods for fear of bugs. they shut down two years after they laid her off and cut the position.

[@handsomeX]

Oh wow great memories! Yeah buffets are very tough to run. Probably the toughest in the entire restaurant business.

[@f0ry0u81]

" Do you like hot fudge sundaes?" 😂

[@aday1637]

Where the kids hang around the chocolate lava fountain and stick their fingers in then lick them off over and over as a form of baby sitting by their parents and other adults nearby, ignoring them? I saw this first hand in a Golden Corral and haven't been back since.

[@Sonny_McMacsson]

I prefer cryo-fudge sundaes.

[@That_Lady_Charlie]

Did you try the lasagna? It's my favorite!

[@This1isaJesusFreak]

Grew up in Minneapolis and Old County Buffet was my family's favorite restaurant! We moved down south in 2000 and by the time I went back to visit Minneapolis, Old County Buffet was gone 😢. So sad. Thanks for making a video about them, it brought back good memories.

[@Karmy.]

The food was never great but I have a lot of memories of my late grandpa taking me there for dinner sometimes as a treat or my parents taking me to the Ryan's in Sandusky, OH one night for dinner while we're staying at one of the indoor waterparks every year Really makes me miss being a kid again

[@honeysunday]

I love Sandusky. Always wanted to live up there

[@kylewhitt587]

Now I miss Old Country Buffet and my grandpa.

[@garrethboland]

Grew up in the 90s in NW Indiana and loved this place. We didn't go often, but when we did, it was such a treat. I think it was in Highland or Shererville or something. Pretty sure when I played football in the early 00s the coaches took us there a few times.

[@scottnotpilgrim]

Was a big part of my young childhood, even in my teens it was starting to decline

[@BugsyFoga]

I’m more of a golden coral sort of guy, but I’m curious to hear about this once beloved buffet

[@jamesstanchfield4268]

0:40 that's the OCB in Crystal,MN. Literally 2 minutes from my house. Went there all the time as a kid and went to the shinders next door for pokemon cards after, good memories

[@RobertHowe-zv7gs]

An Old Country Buffet opened in my community in 1995 ; but closed in 2008; always good food.

[@Megarover]

Never been to Old Country Buffet but I feel bad for the people that have memories of it. Just the thought of seeing your favorite buffet slowly decline overtime while hearing about the parent company go bankrupt multiple times within a 13 year span is depressing.

[@ChevyCamaroIsBetter]

It was great but towards the end most locations were tired and the food wasn’t as good anymore

[@cindeed4422]

Hometown Buffet and Ryan’s were my favorite. My mother, daughter, and myself, three generations of us, went to both after church every Sunday. Yes, please do a video on Golden Corral.

[@PeteR-sj4ni]

Yeah, I have a memory. I went to one where the guy was slicing roast beef and I was behind a bigger guy (I was maybe 10ish). I wanted a slice. The man getting served just said "give me all of it." The server had a baffled look on his face, but just served him. The server just said sorry to me. It still annoys me.

[@danielvest9602]

I worked at an Old Country Buffet in high school. We had a special code for certain customers entering the establishment - when we heard this we would rush to the dessert table and remove half the items.

[@slipknot54095]

😂😂😂

[@JW-mb6tq]

Really? what would they just load up on the desserts? I always saw what I called the “the chicken pickers”. They would wait till a batch of chicken came out and pick through it taking all of a certain type of pieces. I thought it was funny how they would rush over in a hurry.

[@BelievingRebel]

I loved Old Country Buffet, and so did my cousin who was in her 90s. I used to pick her up and take her out to eat. She would pack away an amazing amount of food, ending with cherry pie and ice cream. I think I only went back once or twice after she died.

[@jediknightjairinaiki560]

While growing up in Colorado, we had Furr's Cafeteria and it was awesome. I loved it because they had strawberry pop.

[@terranceramirez4816]

I went to Furr’s once when I lived in Oklahoma because I had heard how good it was and I remember feeling like it was overrated. I tell you the place I really miss though was Pancho’s, you gotta raise that flag and get them sopapillas 😅

[@jediknightjairinaiki560]

@@terranceramirez4816 Casa Bonita has very good sopaipillas and you raise a small flag at your table when you want more of anything.

[@terranceramirez4816]

@@jediknightjairinaiki560 I’ve been to Casa Bonita too, maybe it was just the location that we had in Tulsa but I don’t remember that being super awesome either

[@jediknightjairinaiki560]

@@terranceramirez4816 We went to the one in Lakewood, CO as a kid. The food was subpar, except for the sopaipillas. It was the atmosphere that made it worth the trip. I've not been since it was updated, thanks to Trey Parker and Matt Stone. There's still a long wait list to get in.

[@PJWestfield]

I remember Carver's in Northeast Iowa. Enjoyed them a lot. Same with Country Kitchen. Ever do videos on those?

[@caseypatterson7030]

It warms my heart that you're as sad about it as I was (still am)

[@TyTheRegularMan]

OCB was such a mainstay of my childhood. Barely ever wanted to eat anywhere else.

[@RandomAnagram.]

This makes me think of Hometown Buffet, and unlocked so many memories. ❤ Miss eating at that place in the 2000s, but it got too pricy and quality wasn't all there towards the end. It was always packed at dinner time.

[@fleetadmiralj]

Ah yes, it is our old friend, "Leveraged Buyout"

[@JusNoBS420]

That training video is a Classic!! "Did you get a chance to watch the game last night?" "Have you tried the lasagna? It's my favorite" 🤩 😂

[@stephenm8725]

alright

[@plunksong]

where was that in the video?