Once popular buffet chains were fading in the restaurant sector when the Covid-19 pandemic prompted dining establishments to adopt stricter food safety guidelines.
Food safety awareness during the Covid-19 pandemic also changed consumers’ attitudes toward dining, which led to the demise of several buffet restaurant chains.
Among the buffet chains to disappear due to the Covid-19 pandemic were buffet affiliates HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet, and Ryan’s, which were owned by Fresh Acquisitions LLC.
Buffet restaurants closed after bankruptcy filing
The parent company was devastated by the pandemic and 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 collapse of the buffet restaurant sector due to the pandemic, another similar restaurant concept, Southern cafeteria restaurants, began to disappear in the 1980s and 1990s as consumers’ restaurant preferences shifted to dining at casual chains, such as Applebee’s or TGI Fridays.
Morrison’s chain declined from 151 locations to 1
The grandaddy of all cafeteria-style restaurants was Morrison’s, which opened in 1920 in Mobile, Ala., and expanded to 151 locations at its peak. The chain’s popularity declined in the 80s and 90s, and the company was sold in 1998 to Piccadilly Cafeterias, according to AL.com.
Piccadilly rebranded most of the Morrison’s locations, and the original Mobile location is its last remaining restaurant after 105 years in business.
Another popular Southern comfort food restaurant chain, K&W Cafeterias LLC, went one step further than Morrison’s and shut down all of its locations.
K&W Cafeterias closed all of its restaurant locations five years after filing for bankruptcy.
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K&W Cafeterias permanently closes all locations
K&W Cafeterias, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, closed all nine of its remaining dining locations on Dec. 1, 2025, according to the company’s Facebook page.
The 88-year-old restaurant chain’s website included its farewell message that it posted on its locations’ front doors.
“We are sorry to announce that after proudly serving this and many other communities for years, K&W Holdings Group LLC will be closed permanently. All existing locations closed effective 12/1/2025. We thank you for your support throughout our years in business. K&W Holdings Management.”
K&W Cafeterias closed eight locations in North Carolina and one in Virginia.
K&W Cafeterias company milestones:
- K&W Cafeterias founded 1937.
- Operates up to 35 locations before 2020.
- Operates 18 locations following Covid-19 pandemic.
- Operates 11 locations in 2022.
- Closes remaining 9 restaurants on Dec. 1, 2025.
The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company, however, has not revealed how it will redeem gift cards that it was advertising for sale for the holidays before it shut down all of its locations.
K&W Cafeterias LLC, K&W Holdings Group LLC, and K&W Holdings Management have not filed for bankruptcy protection following the restaurant closures, at last check.
More closings:
- Major trucking company closes Home Depot distribution facility
- 63-year-old bankrupt retail chain closes all stores permanently
- Discount retail chain closes half its store locations
The cafeteria-style restaurant chain, which was founded in 1937, had grown to as many as 35 restaurants before the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the company, WilmingtonBiz reported, forcing it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2020.
The restaurant chain declined to 18 locations once the pandemic subsided, dropped further to 11 restaurants in 2022, and then to nine just before closing the business.
K&W Cafeterias’ menu included such items as roast beef, fried chicken, baked spaghetti, roast turkey, and whitefish.
K&W Cafeterias’ menu items:
- Roast Beef Fried Chicken
- Grilled Chopped Steak
- Chicken Fingers
- Grilled Chicken Breast with Onions
- Baked Chicken
- Chicken Livers
- Beef Liver
- Country Style Steak
- Baked Spaghetti
- Chicken Pan Pie
- Roast Turkey
- Cuban Chicken with Black Bean Salsa
- Whitefish
Related: 80-year-old Home Depot rival permanently closes location
