The once-popular buffet chain is on the wane in the restaurant industry when the Covid-19 pandemic prompts dining establishments to adopt stricter food safety guidelines.
Food safety awareness during the Covid-19 pandemic has also changed consumer attitudes towards dining, leading to the closure of several cafeteria chains.
Buffet chains disappearing due to the Covid-19 pandemic include buffet affiliates HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet and Ryan’s, all owned by Fresh Acquisitions LLC.
The parent company was hit hard by the pandemic and was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2021 to close and liquidate certain of its assets, Nation’s Restaurant News reported at the time.
Before the cafeteria industry collapsed due to COVID-19, another similar restaurant concept – the Southern buffet – began to disappear in the 1980s and 1990s as consumers’ restaurant preferences shifted toward dining at casual chains like Applebee’s or TGI Fridays.
The granddaddy of all buffet-style restaurants was Morrison’s, which opened in Mobile, Alabama in 1920 and at its peak had 151 locations. The chain’s popularity declined in the 1980s and 1990s, and it was sold to Piccadilly Cafeterias in 1998, according to AL.com.
Piccadilly has renamed most of Morrison’s restaurants, with the original Morrison’s (Mobile) being the last remaining restaurant after 105 years in business.
K&W Cafeterias LLC, another popular Southern comfort food restaurant chain, went a step further than Morrison’s and closed all of its locations.
K&W Cafeterias filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 and closed all nine remaining restaurants on December 1, 2025, according to the company’s Facebook page.
The 88-year-old restaurant chain’s website posted farewell messages posted on the front doors of its stores.
“We are sad to announce that after proudly serving this community and many others for many years, K&W Holdings Group LLC will be closing permanently. All existing locations will close on December 1, 2025. We thank you for your support of our business over the years. K&W Holdings Management.”
K&W Cafeterias closed eight restaurants in North Carolina and one in Virginia.
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K&W Cafeteria was established in 1937.
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Operating up to 35 locations by 2020.
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Operating 18 locations following the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Operating 11 locations in 2022.
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The remaining nine restaurants will close on December 1, 2025.
