Why Aren't the Buffets Reopening?

I have always heard that buffets were big moneymakers for the resorts and nowhere has any of the COVID stuff been tied to any buffet, so are the resorts just using it as an excuse to get rid of them? Were they not moneymakers?

Perhaps the reason that no "COVID stuff" has been tied to buffets is that most of them have been shut down, in some cases permanently.

Early on in the pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration released a series of best practices for restaurants, which include discontinuing self-serving stations that require customers to use common utensils or dispensers, like salad bars, buffets, and drink stations. The smorgasbords that have reopened, such as at the Cosmopolitan and South Point in Las Vegas, Atlantis in Reno, and the Golden Corral chain in certain locations around the country, are no longer self-serve; now, servers dish out the food to buffet-goers.

As for being big money-makers, we wonder where you might've heard that. For decades, the buffets in Las Vegas were, instead, big loss leaders for the casinos, used to lure gamblers attracted by the little prices of the large all-you-can-eat spreads. Indeed, Las Vegas' first buffet, known then as a chuckwagon, cost $1. Not exactly a highly profitable price.

Sure, over the years, as the buffets got more elaborate and prices rose, it seemed like the gourmet superbuffets had to be netting something of a profit. But it's hard to say, since the economics of buffets are closely kept and have been for as long as we can remember. We've never seen any profit or loss figures.

Buffets are, of course, different than sit-down restaurants. There's a much smaller wait staff. The food is prepared in bulk from a prescribed menu. No one sends food back to the kitchen. All those lend themselves to lower overhead. Yes, they have to contend with big-eating customers. But buffets are often a family affair, so even if Dad and Buddy can pack away the poundage, Mom, Granny, and Sis most likely balance them out in the food-consumption department.

Shrinkage, a.k.a excess waste, is definitely a big expense. We have seen numbers for that, ranging from a manageable 5% all the way to an excessive 25%. That's why, before the shutdown when 70 or so Las Vegas buffets were running at full speed, a trend toward single servings was developing, notably at the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmo and AYCE buffet at the Palms. No doubt that improved the buffet bottom lines at those, though whether or not they turned the corner to profitability is anyone's guess.

It’s hard to imagine Caesars Palace’s Bacchanal Buffet at $69.99 for the weekend dinner and Bally’s Sterling Champagne Brunch at $95 losing money while they were operating. But it seems to us that some of the less expensive gourmet buffets (Bellagio, Aria, Wynn) and certainly Station Casinos' bargain Feasts and the spreads at places like the Rampart, M, and the Rio were almost certainly loss leaders to some extent.

Bottom line: The reason the buffets are still closed is due in large part to COVID-19 stuff, but if they were major money losers for the casinos, the pandemic is as good a reason as any not to reopen them, at least until visitor volume returns to near-normal numbers.

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Dorothy Kahhan Oct-05-2020

Some thoughts on buffets

I think it's just a matter of the casinos figuring out what works in order to open their buffets. At the Wynn, where it was more of a sit down restaurant experience, customers weren't impressed. But at the South Point, it's more of a traditional buffet experience, where you go up to the serving station, point out exactly what you want and a server dishes it out on to your plate. It seems to be working for them, so it might be the model to look to when it comes to opening their buffet. In all honesty, the buffet is one of the big attractions for us, with gambling being secondary. It's what brought us in to the casinos, and without a buffet, our casino visits have been down to just a couple of times since the casinos reopened, and we have no plans to go anytime soon, except, perhaps, for the South Point.

Randall Ward Oct-05-2020

buffets

perception is part of it, it just seems logical that buffets would be bad but more likely it's the lack of people.   Buffets need to be at capacity or the waste is just overwhelming.

vegasdawn Oct-05-2020

Time to open more buffets

There is no reason that all buffets cannot open.  It has been 6 months, and the South Point has made it work.  They could raise the price to make it more profitable.  Then they could also not give any discounts for children.  They are just lazy to not bring them back and the casinos are hurting for it.

Luis Oct-05-2020

they must come back

Buffets are part of the Vegas experience. I know, it's not gourmet food, but, it's a must for almost all Las vegas Visitors, it's part of the Las Vegas charm, take it away, take the atractions, like the mirage volcano show, bellagio fountains, the venetian cannals, The treasure Island pirate show (ups sorry got carried awway jajaja),Excalibur's and circus circus experiences, mistic falls, and other atractions, and you just have a sterile, casino with little else. Las Vegas was made little by little with service, shows, places to watch, to atract gamblers ( and their families). It's more dificult to atract gamblers if they can't bring their families along

jay Oct-05-2020

Lineups

I do not miss lining up for a buffet.

It has always floored me that you need to line up for a buffet. Why can't you prebook for a buffet at a set time - and come back for your seating. I am more apt to sit in a casino and play black jack or whatever for an hour before my meal than want to stand in line for an hour not contributing to the casino's bottom line. The resort could also sell you buffets on check in or through a booking site (ie Expedia) that would ensure you would be spending money at their resort. Nothing like having a pre paid meal at a pre-set time to ensure your going to be there. This is the reason that people rarely venture off resort at the mexican or dominican all-inclusives... they might have to pay for a meal elsewhere and not extract full value. LOL

In terms of P&L if you know how many people are going to be at your restaurant at X hr you can adjust food quantities to match. 
Finally lines in the time of Covid are a bad thing.

rokgpsman Oct-05-2020

Buffet health risks

There is a lot of food waste at buffets, I guess that's just part of the experience to try something and not finish it, then go back for something else. With the many 2-for-1 offers, Senior Days and other giveaways it's likely a loss-leader a lot of times, some places may decide to eliminate it as a trial. But it's a tradition in Vegas, one of the things many visitors expect to be able to do and it attracts customers, keeps them onsite, so most places had a buffet until this year. Even before the covid crisis happened if you have any personal hygiene standards you probably wondered about going to the various buffet food stations and using the same serving utensils as all the other customers who may or may not have washed their hands after visiting the restroom, changing their kid's diaper or petted their dog. I don't worry so much about the buffet employees as I do my fellow buffet diners. We've all seen people walk out of a restroom stall and not wash their hands before leaving. Yuck.

Roy Furukawa Oct-05-2020

Feeding the Masses

I wonder how the strip hotels would be able to feed the masses if things got back to normal and they closed their buffets for good. When you have a few thousand or more hotel rooms and you want to keep your clients in-house and not go outside, feeding them with just sit down restaurants and a couple of food bars isn't easy. I think buffets will make a comeback as long as things get back to normal or maybe more likely, a new normal.

Sam Glantzow Oct-05-2020

holiday opening

i'm coming to vegas over christmas. the casinos offered huge holiday spreads [with raised prices] not just at buffets but other restaurants in hotel. will watch with interest if any buffets open for t'giving, or what the hotels do for that holiday. think that will be good preview for christmas

Gerard Kapsiak Oct-05-2020

Cosmopolitan Buffet Works Well

The server provided small plate concept at Cosmopolitan's Wicked Spoon buffet works well and is well received . They take advance reservations and the tables are usually all full, with a line of people without reservations waiting for tables to become available.  It would be good for other properties to follow their example.  It is surprising that none of the Caesars or MGM property buffets have reopened yet, especially the high end ones like Bacchanal, Aria, and Bellagio.

sean Oct-05-2020

Wynn buffer is closed

Ms Kahhan must have missed the news from Wynn when they closed the sit down version of their buffet back at the beginning of September.

Oct-05-2020

One small bad thing about buffets

To have a comprehensive discussion, I think we should also mention that one small bad thing about buffets is that some people (probably mostly children) don't take care to prevent the food from one container/tray from getting into another one, and so we wind up seeing tomato sauce (from an Italian dish) in a Chinese or northern European dish, etc.  People will grab a big glop of one item and carry the big spoon over another item's tray and spill some of it in the process.  I hate this.  But when restaurant staff are doing the serving, this almost never happens.  ALSO: about the long lines:  a trick that many of us have used for years is to not eat at normal times, but rather enter the buffet at the end of breakfast right before it turns into lunch, or at the end of lunch right before it turns into dinner.  This no only avoids lines; it saves money!

Dorothy Kahhan Oct-06-2020

Mrs. Kahhan is aware the Wynn closed their buffet

That's why I said customers weren't impressed. Currently, the Cosmopolitan and South Point are the only open buffets, and the South Point is the better value. As I said, this is the model to look to for reopening the buffets at the rest of the casinos, particularly on the Stations properties.

Tim Clark Oct-07-2020

hungry soul

One more reason not to go to Vegas any more With all the extras that have been added on in the past few years it was the one thing you could count on. A cheap meal

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