The only one of its 353 franchised locations in NY City, Golden Corral in the Bronx is drawing a ... [+]
New York City has countless restaurants that specialize in innumerable types of food. But one style that has eluded the country’s largest metropolis with its 8.2 million residents: all-you-can-eat buffets. While Las Vegas and its many hotels offer numerous buffets, New York City has a precious few.
But one that is thriving is Golden Corral in the Bronx in New York City. Golden Corral has 353 locations nationwide in 39 states and Puerto Rico; of which 3 are company-owned and the remainder franchised, but only that one in New York City. Of its locations, all serve dinner from 4 p.m. to closing, lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and many offer breakfast on weekends and some but not all during the week.
The franchise in the Bronx is family-owned, run by two sisters, Niroopa Harpaul, its general manager, Nadia Harpaul, its front-of-the house manager, and their brother Davendra Harpaul, the kitchen manager.
Golden Corral has been maintaining its roster of franchises with minimal expansion of late. In fact, it opened only one new location in 2023, which was in Puerto Rico, and it’s looking to open two new ones in 2024.
But the one thing that all Golden Corral’s offer is all-you-can buffets, with unlimited opportunity to replenish one’s plate. When corporate Golden Corral was asked what limitations there were on guests refilling their plate, the response was: None.
Golden Corral’s only franchise within New York City has carved out a loyal audience looking for buffet food at a reasonable price.
It’s located in the Parkchester area of the Bronx in proximity to the Parkchester condominiums, which house 12,000 residential units, equivalent to the population of a small city.
The Bronx buffet debuted in September 2020, during the pandemic, and a very difficult time to open, explains Niroopa Harpaul. Her parents owned the building, which had been a Sizzler for years, where the buffet was very popular, which influenced them to explore and then turn it into a Golden Corral.
When it opened during the pandemic, it served its food outside only, in a tent, “which felt as if our guests were on vacation in the Bronx,” she says.
It accommodates 279 guests, which is large for a New York City eatery, but smaller than many Golden Corral’s, she says, which serve on average 400 people. It also has parking for 30 cars. The restaurant covers 7,800 square feet, space it needs for its kitchen and meat-cutting room, and has a staff of 52, front-and-back-of-the-house.
It’s located in proximity to Montefiore Hospital and Albert Einstein Hospital, bringing in many nurses and doctors at holiday time for events.
It also serves alcohol, beer, wine and mixed drinks, which cost extra, and not always the case at many Golden Corral’s. A spokeswoman said currently only 19 of its 353 locations serve liquor.
To make a buffet restaurant profitable, the secret, Harpaul says, is “quick service, especially for lunch, fast-in and fast-out, and since they help themselves to food, it leads to fast table turns.”
It attracts a diverse audience: its early bird special brings in the seniors for lunch, the kids’ price makes it appealing for children, and its alcohol options lure the younger crowd.
Entrees at dinner include meatloaf, pot roast, chicken tenders, fried chicken, shrimp and sirloin steak.
The Bronx Golden Corral has managed to keep its prices in check: all you can eat breakfasts and lunches cost $13.49 and a $1 less for seniors 60 years and older, $9 for kids 4 to 12; and dinner from 4 p.m. to closing, $20 for adults, $2 less for seniors and $11 for children.
How They Keep Their Prices Down
Harpaul declares that keeping its pricing down stems from being associated with a national brand “that has collective buying power.”
Why Buffet Restaurants Are Feeling Some Pain
But post-pandemic most buffet restaurant chains have been facing some headwinds. Jason Kaplan, who runs an eponymous restaurant consulting firm in New York City, noted that even buffets in Las Vegas encountered tough times post-pandemic as Aria and Rio hotels shuttered theirs. “Today’s diners,” he points out, “are also less inclined to eat in buffets; if dining out, they would rather have a full-service experience.”
Buffet restaurants thrive more in the suburbs and Midwest and South, where people often prefer chain restaurants. In New York, it can be difficult to be profitable because “the rents are too high” for the space needed to operate a buffet restaurant.
Many people perceive buffet-dining as offering considerable value. But he says buffet owners depend on guests filling up their plates with cheaper items such as salads, soups, vegetables and side dishes, not more expensive meats.
Buffets have “slimmer margins on the food and make up for it on the lower labor costs because it’s a self-service concept,” Kaplan points out.
Kaplan says that Golden Corral’s opening one new location in 2023 indicates that “Demand is not where it was previously. This has a lot to do with the COVID pandemic, risk of illness and lack of quality many people have associated with buffets.”
But consumer reaction on Yelp to dining out at the Golden Corral was mostly positive. Andres from Queens gave the restaurant five stars based on the superior service he encountered. He liked the bourbon chicken and thought the grill section was better than what you would expect from a buffet eatery.
Zenda from New York wrote that the buffet was filled “with an assortment of goodies” including her favorites steak and carne asada. “Everything was fresh and tasty and the vibe was calm and youthful,” she wrote.
It also tries to give back to the community. Public school students with a perfect attendance certificate eat free with an accompanying adult.
About Golden Corral’s minimal growth, Harpaul says that the pandemic screened out the franchisees who weren’t able to make their restaurants profitable.
Looking into the future, Harpaul says they’re looking into opening a second location but can’t go into any specific details.
