Say goodbye to buffets: Sweet Tomatoes closing for good

[disneysteve]

Sweet Tomatoes and Soup Plantation announced today that they are permanently closing all locations nationwide in the wake of COVID. The FDA and health department guidance essentially says self-serve food stations and salad bars should no longer exist which was their entire business model.

We love this place and usually ate there twice on every Disney World trip. We’ve also eaten there in some other locations. My daughter will be very upset. It was one of her favorite restaurants anywhere.

This may be part of the new normal as we emerge from this. Salad bars and buffets may be a thing of the past.

[kork13]

Never heard of those restaurants (perhaps it's a regional thing?), but that is kinda sad... I don't often go to buffet-style places, but on occasion, it's nice to be able to pick & sample a bunch of different dishes. Because this doesn't just impact the 110% American Golden Corral style chow-fest, but theoretically could hurt BBQ, Thai/Indian, Pizza, and other places that have buffet lines.

[Scallywag]

I felt the same way when Fresh Choice went bust. These closings are so heart breaking

[~bs]

sad for the businesses, but i've been over buffets since I was 20 something. Stuffing your face with foot until you are nearly bursting doesn't hold much appeal for me nowadays. I'd rather just pay money to get the food I want in the quantity I want.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Sad to hear about this. In Los Angeles we have/had the Soup Plantation brand. In Tampa Bay it was called Sweet Tomato. I guess Golden Corral might be next. I loved myself a good buffet. Sigh.

Edited to add: Next could be Hometown/Ryan's/Old Country buffets, Chinese buffets, casino buffets, dang.

[rennigade]

Ive been to buffets before, some good, some bad...but it is kind of gross. Both in the sense of everyone scooping from the same trough, the other being people will eat themselves into oblivion just so they can "get their moneys worth." I used to eat a lot when I went, and felt terrible the rest of the day. The things we'll put ourselves through for less than 30 minutes of mouth pleasure. Let them all close.

[bjl584]

Buffets seem like they would be a perfect place to spread germs.
They might just very well go away or be altered.
But, probably only for a while.
People have short term memories and forget about the lessons of the past fairly quickly.
Life goes on, and probably so will the buffet eventually.

[Like2Plan]

I am sad they are going out of business. But, I am surprised they survived Norovirus. DH and I have given up buffets a long time ago (if we could help it, anyway). For us, they only seemed to encourage overeating on our part. Then, there are the other customers which may not end up getting you sick, but they just skeeve me out. Like when parents let their young children go up to the buffet unsupervised, for example. Or, this is a little out there--but, when we went to Maui our hotel had a buffet outside--sure there were beautiful ocean views and the novelty of eating outside.... But, the birds flying in and out of the buffet and eating off the buffet (they really liked the rice and blueberries ) kind of took away from some of that. Then, the birds would eat off your plate if you weren't careful. (Yick!)

[Fishindude77]

Sheesh !
Enough of these "ray of sunshine" threads already.
It's not all gloom and doom out there.

[disneysteve]

Wow. A lot of buffet haters out there.

We never did it for the "stuff your face" aspect but really enjoy the "choose what you'd like" aspect. I don't know of any sit down restaurant where I can order a small salad, one chicken wing, one Asian spare rib, a small slice of lasagna, a meatball, a couple of spears of asparagus, 1/4 ear of corn, a sugar cookie, and a sliver of cheesecake.

Especially when the 3 of us are going out together, it provides the perfect venue where everyone can find something they like. And the price can't be beat. Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City has a really excellent buffet. Regular price is $20 and I always get a 50% deal through the rewards club so my wife and I can go together for $20 and get a very nice lunch. I hope they find a way for that to continue with appropriate sanitation even if that means adding a few servers to give you the food and up the price a few dollars.

[disneysteve]

Sheesh !
Enough of these "ray of sunshine" threads already.
It's not all gloom and doom out there.

Of course it isn't, but these realities are out there too. I see nothing wrong with discussing both the good and the bad.

[bjl584]

Wow. A lot of buffet haters out there.

We never did it for the "stuff your face" aspect but really enjoy the "choose what you'd like" aspect. I don't know of any sit down restaurant where I can order a small salad, one chicken wing, one Asian spare rib, a small slice of lasagna, a meatball, a couple of spears of asparagus, 1/4 ear of corn, a sugar cookie, and a sliver of cheesecake.

Especially when the 3 of us are going out together, it provides the perfect venue where everyone can find something they like. And the price can't be beat. Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City has a really excellent buffet. Regular price is $20 and I always get a 50% deal through the rewards club so my wife and I can go together for $20 and get a very nice lunch. I hope they find a way for that to continue with appropriate sanitation even if that means adding a few servers to give you the food and up the price a few dollars.

No hate here.
There is a sushi buffet near me that we used to frequent.
Definitely looking forward to that reopening.

It isn't a traditional style buffet where there are troughs of food.
You place your order with the waiter and they bring you your meal.
It is just unlimited reorders.
This might be the future of all buffets.

[disneysteve]

No hate here.
There is a sushi buffet near me that we used to frequent.
Definitely looking forward to that reopening.

It isn't a traditional style buffet where there are troughs of food.
You place your order with the waiter and they bring you your meal.
It is just unlimited reorders.
This might be the future of all buffets.

So it isn't a buffet at all. It's just all you care to eat.

There are also a lot of places that serve family style. Either they have a set menu or you select from the options and they bring out a big platter of food for everyone to share, and some are all you care to eat so they will bring more of any of the items upon request.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Conveyor belt sushi (or any other food dishes) might be the new buffet work around, well sort of especially if the food item is contained in a protective enclosure such as in this picture. A conveyor belt constantly delivers various different dishes which you select from the conveyor belt and you choose to eat.

[bjl584]

So it isn't a buffet at all. It's just all you care to eat.

There are also a lot of places that serve family style. Either they have a set menu or you select from the options and they bring out a big platter of food for everyone to share, and some are all you care to eat so they will bring more of any of the items upon request.

Basically all you can eat, but instead of the food being out in the open you order what you want and it is brought to your table.
Unlimited reorders.
The only food out in the open is the salad bar.
All sushi, rolls, and meals are ordered from the menu.