BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Alpha8472
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BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Alpha8472 »

BBQ Holdings has agreed to buy the parent company of Old Country Buffet, Tahoe Joe's, Ryan's, HomeTown Buffet, and Furr's Fresh Buffet. The only brand that is still operating is the Tahoe Joe's chain in California. There are 5 Tahoe Joe's left. BBQ Holdings bought Village Inn and Bakers Square in July.

They are not going to reopen any of the buffets such as Old Country or HomeTown Buffet. Those buffets are seemingly gone forever.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Super S »

It is a weird time to take over any chain based on the buffet model. Perhaps another format could be in the works if they still own some of the closed locations, but the Old Country and Home Town Buffet locations I have been to have been mostly located in strip malls. Many are still vacant.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by jamcool »

Golden Corral is still going strong...maybe it's just the bad food.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by storewanderer »

I think Sizzler corporate recovered from bankruptcy (again) and the corporate has taken over some defunct franchisee's locations in OR. I guess Sizzler is not quite as dependent upon buffet as these concepts were.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by buckguy »

Sizzler would have been dead ages ago without their overseas franchises. That's what keeps a lot of brands alive.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Knight »

jamcool wrote: October 11th, 2021, 2:12 pm Golden Corral is still going strong...maybe it's just the bad food.
Golden Corral remains strong indeed.

Ryan's could still be around if it operated as a subsidiary of Buffets, Inc./Ovation separate from other brands. Its locations were constantly successful and well operated before the acquisition. After the acquisition, bad practices from Old Country Buffet were carried over to Ryan's.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by storewanderer »

buckguy wrote: October 12th, 2021, 7:23 am Sizzler would have been dead ages ago without their overseas franchises. That's what keeps a lot of brands alive.
Sizzler USA was separated from the Sizzler International years ago, so I don't think the International operation has anything to do with the US operation staying afloat at least for the past 10 or so years.

Also most of the International locations closed in 2020.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by buckguy »

Sizzler is still open in Asia. They are a mainstay of Thai shopping malls. The international operation kept them a float for most of their history.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote: October 11th, 2021, 9:14 pm I think Sizzler corporate recovered from bankruptcy (again) and the corporate has taken over some defunct franchisee's locations in OR. I guess Sizzler is not quite as dependent upon buffet as these concepts were.
Sizzler's conversion to a full buffet (in addition to their traditional menu) nearly killed the chain back in the 1990s.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Super S »

pseudo3d wrote: October 13th, 2021, 9:22 am
storewanderer wrote: October 11th, 2021, 9:14 pm I think Sizzler corporate recovered from bankruptcy (again) and the corporate has taken over some defunct franchisee's locations in OR. I guess Sizzler is not quite as dependent upon buffet as these concepts were.
Sizzler's conversion to a full buffet (in addition to their traditional menu) nearly killed the chain back in the 1990s.
Longview, WA has a long-time Sizzler that has held on for the 30+ years I have lived in this area. The buffet was present, but I always thought that their buffet was half-hearted at best as it focused too much on the salad bar and had a limited number of hot dishes. I always order from the main menu and will not pay additional for their salad bar/buffet.

I have not been there since the Covid mess started, but it looks like they are struggling as there are only a handful of vehicles in the parking lot at any given time. This used to be a very well-run Sizzler but in recent years the service and quality were falling off.

I think Sizzler could still be viable if they ditched the buffet and focused on their main menu more, in other words, focus on their roots.
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