All-you-can-eat buffets started with 18th-century Swedish smörgåsbords and exploded in America when a casino owner opened the first one, spreading to KFC, Wendy's, and Pizza Hut. But food poisoning outbreaks and lawsuits in the late 1990s closed roughly 1,300 locations, and COVID finished them off for good.
All-you-can-eat buffets were so popular that every restaurant tried them, but now you can't find them anywhere. Well, what happened? It all starts back in 18th century Sweden. Elites were feasting on large spreads called smorgasbords. The concept expanded to France and we got the term buffet. Then the US decided that it wanted a slice of that endless pie because Americans, well, we love to eat. So this casino owner offers the very first American buffet. Competitors suddenly catch on. KFC, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, you name it. Everyone tries to binge feed. Made America. But the late '90s hit, and there are some issues. Quality control is poor. Foodborne illnesses happen. E. coli outbreaks. It turns into a mess. So lawsuits are everywhere, and profitability is shrinking quickly. 1,300 buffets close their doors. But that's not the end of it. COVID shows up just a few years ago, and because they weren't ready, the largest buffet chains are forced to close their doors for good. And we're back to boring single-serve food.
