BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Alpha8472
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Alpha8472 »

A local Sizzler near me closed within the last year. I had always passed by, but it never appealed to me. There are way too many better options in most areas. The restaurant looked like it had not been remodeled in at least 30 years.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by BillyGr »

Super S wrote: October 13th, 2021, 5:45 pm 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.
Or do the way Ponderosa did and offer the buffet/salad bar with all the main meals (as well as the option to get just the buffet). That seemed to work OK (they have closed many spots as well, but not just due to that), and you have a smaller PA based chain that does the same to this day and managed to operate from about July 2020 onward all but a couple weeks doing that (while so many buffet type places were not re-opening).
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Bagels »

Thread title is slightly misleading - they bought Tahoe Joe's, although the sale included IP rights to the defunct buffet chains. There are several Hometown Buffets still standing near me, but I've read that they've been mostly gutted on the inside (liquidation sales) and their leases were rejected.

It's not much of a surprise these chains went under. The food quality at Old Country Buffet was terrible, and the prices continued to escalate as the chains' primary clientele were big eaters. Hometown Buffet wasn't much better. but if you joined their e-club, they frequently sent coupons, making it cheap. Shortly before the pandemic, we paid about $6 per adult for lunch but merely drank coffee and picked at the desserts. It was kinda sad - a light (not calorie wise!) meal for us, but the majority of the crowd was Latino and it was clearly a big deal to them (dressed up, having a party, etc.).

The buffet market isn't dead. You can wait a long time to get into Golden Corral -- it's priced around the same as Hometown Buffet (excluding promotions) and the food is very good.
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.
While commonly attributed to its decline, I think it's an exaggerated point. What really killed Sizzler was the emergence of other discount steak houses. Look at Outback -- they quickly built a large number of restaurants in SoCal. virtually all new construction in new shopping centers (compared to the aging Sizzlers located in aging strip malls). The restaurants had a much nicer ambience, and the food was cheap -- in 2001, an 8 oz. sirloin steak with two sides + soup or salad was $8.99 (excluding coupons). More food than Sizzler for a comparable price. Sizzler was forced to offer huge discounts to get people in the door, hoping to upsell them once they arrived. For example, as recently as 2015, they had a 6 oz. sirloin steak + baked potato for $4.99. Then they'd aggressively offer a soda for $3, shrimp for $1 each, etc.

And sometimes brands just age out. Black Angus has met a similar fate, even though it was and is a better value (and better food) than the competition.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by BreakingThrough »

Drove by the Sizzler on Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance, CA yesterday. Big "SALAD BAR OPEN!" banner out front. I think there is still gold to mine from offering that salad bar. It seems to have a following, as '90s / Souplantation-esque as it is.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by pseudo3d »

BreakingThrough wrote: October 18th, 2021, 12:36 pm Drove by the Sizzler on Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance, CA yesterday. Big "SALAD BAR OPEN!" banner out front. I think there is still gold to mine from offering that salad bar. It seems to have a following, as '90s / Souplantation-esque as it is.
Souplantation is dead, and it was already struggling before COVID took it down. If Sizzler plays its cards right, it can take up the niche that Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes had, possibly with some new format that could bring diners back as it capitalizes on healthy food with value.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Bagels »

pseudo3d wrote: October 18th, 2021, 4:16 pm
BreakingThrough wrote: October 18th, 2021, 12:36 pm Drove by the Sizzler on Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance, CA yesterday. Big "SALAD BAR OPEN!" banner out front. I think there is still gold to mine from offering that salad bar. It seems to have a following, as '90s / Souplantation-esque as it is.
Souplantation is dead, and it was already struggling before COVID took it down. If Sizzler plays its cards right, it can take up the niche that Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes had, possibly with some new format that could bring diners back as it capitalizes on healthy food with value.
Souplantation had been enjoying a renaissance pre-COVID. Sizzer will never be able to fill the void -- Souplantation focused on fresh, healthy items, and Sizzler... well, Sizzler was Sizzler.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Bradford011 »

I was the geotech for the Old Country Buffet that was built in Manassas VA back in the 1990's. It closed about a decade or so ago and is now a Hibachi Buffet. The Long John Silver's in the same plaza is long gone as well.

Never ate there so I know nothing of the quality.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by arizonaguy »

Bagels wrote: October 18th, 2021, 4:44 pm
pseudo3d wrote: October 18th, 2021, 4:16 pm
BreakingThrough wrote: October 18th, 2021, 12:36 pm Drove by the Sizzler on Hawthorne Blvd. in Torrance, CA yesterday. Big "SALAD BAR OPEN!" banner out front. I think there is still gold to mine from offering that salad bar. It seems to have a following, as '90s / Souplantation-esque as it is.
Souplantation is dead, and it was already struggling before COVID took it down. If Sizzler plays its cards right, it can take up the niche that Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes had, possibly with some new format that could bring diners back as it capitalizes on healthy food with value.
Souplantation had been enjoying a renaissance pre-COVID. Sizzer will never be able to fill the void -- Souplantation focused on fresh, healthy items, and Sizzler... well, Sizzler was Sizzler.
I really think Souplantation could've survived. It was the one buffet format that was actually popular with the millennial (and younger generations). During post covid times I'd like to see someone else try the concept.
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Re: BBQ Holdings: HomeTown, Old Country Buffet

Post by Bagels »

arizonaguy wrote: November 23rd, 2021, 7:08 am
Bagels wrote: October 18th, 2021, 4:44 pm
pseudo3d wrote: October 18th, 2021, 4:16 pm

Souplantation is dead, and it was already struggling before COVID took it down. If Sizzler plays its cards right, it can take up the niche that Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes had, possibly with some new format that could bring diners back as it capitalizes on healthy food with value.
Souplantation had been enjoying a renaissance pre-COVID. Sizzer will never be able to fill the void -- Souplantation focused on fresh, healthy items, and Sizzler... well, Sizzler was Sizzler.
I really think Souplantation could've survived. It was the one buffet format that was actually popular with the millennial (and younger generations). During post covid times I'd like to see someone else try the concept.
Apparently foot traffic and revenues were slowly increasing, but same store sales (unadjusted for inflation) were well below their 1990s peak.
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