What Happened to Buffet Restaurants and Are There Any Left?

Old style, classic buffet's were so popular in their day, but as all thing change and fade when something new and exciting comes around, the buffet type restaurant, Old Country Buffet or Golden Corral, even Ponderosa, faded out and closed their doors.

It was always such a thrill to go to a buffet style restaurant. There were piles of food from soup to nuts, as they say.

You would find salads, sides, main courses, desserts, every thing your stomach would desire, and, you could eat until the cows came home!

Buffet's faded, according the the website Grubfeed.com due to Health and Hygiene concerns, the Food Waste, the Changing Consumer, Social Media and Food Presentation, and the Challenge of Profitability for the restaurant.

So, for those who still wish there were a good buffet or more around, are there any left in Grand Rapids and around Michigan?

Pretty much any buffet left is a Chinese buffet, but not the old style type I'm talking about. However, there are a few.

In Kalamazoo there is one on the Western Michigan campus, the Valley Dining Center.

Reddit Kalamazoo says it is open to the public, and you can eat all you want and stay as long as you want for $18.

Reddit also mentioned the Shwarma King Buffet in Kalamazoo.

They offer a Middle Eastern buffet of foods.

They also mentioned the Pizza Ranch Buffet's.

They are in Kentwood, Hudsonville and Holland. It's limited but they have pizza, chicken, salad bar and desserts.

And finally, one can't forget the Gun Lake Casino Harvest Buffet in Wayland.

Now you're talking about a true old style buffet with just about anything your mouth desires!

It certainly is a limited choice, but if you're salivating for a good old style buffet, the few remaining might fill your need.