Golden Corral: All-You-Can-Eat Buffet Back
JOLIET, IL — For nearly three months, the Joliet Golden Corral restaurant on West Jefferson Street followed Gov. J.B. Pritzker's pandemic restrictions and kept its dining room off-limits to customers, but that changed this month.
During the past two weeks, Golden Corral announced that indoor guests were welcome once again. And Golden Corral brought back its popular buffet, which was absent for most of 2020 as coronavirus cases were at dangerous levels across Illinois.
Golden Corral is now requiring its dine-in guests to wear a mask while they stand in the buffet line. Customers are also required to put on a pair of Golden Corral's disposable gloves as an added safety precaution as they select their food from the buffet line.
So far, so good, says the Joliet restaurant general manager.
On Thursday afternoon, there was a steady crowd of indoor guests at the West Jefferson Street Golden Corral.
Business has climbed substantially since Golden Corral brought back the buffet, Joliet general manager Alina Bosze told Patch during Thursday's early afternoon interview.
Bosze told Joliet Patch she was pleased to learn that Illinois lifted the indoor dining restrictions for Will County on Thursday.
Joliet area residents who haven't been inside Golden Corral for months will be pleased with all the safety measures taking place to stop the spread of COVID-19, she said.
The West Jefferson Street Golden Corral is now staying open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. It's closed Mondays.
"We are very busy," Bosze said. "Every day, people are calling about the buffet. Tables are nicely spaced, and guests must wear a mask while moving around the restaurant."
Last summer, Joliet Patch reported that Golden Corral opted to shut down its buffet and switch over to a family style meal where the employees brought unlimited meal portions to the guest's table.
That's over.
The all-you-can eat buffet is back at the Joliet Golden Corral, Bosze said.
"We did our best with the family style, however, the guests were used to our old style of Golden Corral buffet," she said.
At the moment, about 40 percent of the food orders are derived from "to go" orders. And moving forward, Golden Corral will continue to offer takeout and delivery options, Bosze said.
On Thursday afternoon, she was constantly answering phone calls from people inquiring about placing carryout orders.
"We do have a lot of to-go's as well, and we use Uber and DoorDash, so there is a lot of deliveries going on," she said.
For people who haven't tried the Joliet Golden Corral, Bosze said they will be impressed by the quality of her buffet.
Bosze said there's a big selection of steamed vegetables, while the fried chicken, pot roast and meat loaf are popular selections.
The best part of the buffet?
It's all you can eat, the general manager said.
"We're serving our full menu," Bosze said. "And our whole restaurant is open so guests always have a choice to find a comfortable space to eat."
On Thursday, Joliet Patch noticed that Golden Corral's most popular all-time customer, John Paul "JP" Bruzek, wasn't in the dining room.
Was something wrong? Is everything OK, Joliet Patch inquired.
Bosze said "JP" continues to patronize Golden Corral during the winter, especially on the weekends.
In September, Joliet Patch profiled Bruzek, who has eaten at the Golden Corral at least 4,000 times since relocating to Joliet in 2013.
"I like the fried chicken," JP told Joliet Patch at the time. "Their fried chicken is excellent."
This article originally appeared on the Joliet Patch
