The traditional gift for a 50th anniversary is something gold. Looks like Golden Corral got plenty of caffeine instead.
At its half-century mark, the family-dining powerhouse is spinning off a fast-casual concept, trying a new steak version of its namesake buffet brand, readying a subscription program, and stepping up its marketing of meal components that customers can prep and serve at home.
Similarly, the brand has put a systemized sales effort in place to land more tour-bus business, an investment that increased bookings fourfold in January.
That’s while embracing technology at a rate Golden Corral admittedly never imagined. The fruits include loyalty program enhancements and a new app.
The activity comes as Golden Corral is relishing a 37% leap in same-store sales for the first six weeks of 2023, with 27 points coming from an increase in order counts. A new high mark was set for average sales per unit, with comps overshooting where they were pre-pandemic by 2%.
All 363 of its units are fully open and operating at peak capacity, and plans are in place to resume expansion. Five Golden Corrals are in the pipeline, and the outlook is bright for the new fast-casual venture because its smaller size will fit a wide array of locations.
“On top of everything, we’re celebrating our 50th year when many, many people didn’t think we’d be here for 48 or 49,” says Lance Trenary, Golden Corral’s CEO and a firsthand witness to 38 of those 50 years. During the pandemic, “much of the industry had written us off, and many of the media prognosticators had written us off.
“To see us now—thriving, not just surviving—and the future never being brighter, I’ve never felt better in 38 years about our situation.”
As a buffet concept, Golden Corral had a tougher time than most restaurant operations during the pandemic. The big-batch prep and self-service format don’t transition easily to a portion-by-portion takeout and delivery model, the salvation of many an eating place after dining rooms were forced to close in 2020 and ’21.
When restrictions were eased to allow portions of dining areas to reopen, there was still the problem of guests having to wait in line to load their plates themselves at the buffet.
A significant portion of the system closed and remained that way during the crisis. Golden Corral’s largest franchisee declared bankruptcy, and the franchisor had to contend with dire prospects for the whole brand.
Golden Corral scrambled to overhaul a concept that tended to be visited by its fans an average of 70 times per year. A table-service experiment that had begun pre-pandemic was intensified. Other stores switched to a cafeteria serving style, where patrons still walked down the buffet to select what they wanted but employees on the other side of the array dished out the food.
Drive-thrus were installed at a handful of units, with a mini-buffet set up on the restaurant side of the window. Employees would dish out orders from that array.
As the experimentation and trial continued, Trenary and his team realized the openness to trying the new and unproven was as crucial as the changes being made. It led to a shift in orientation.
“We realized we have to be a learning organization,” says Trenary. “We have to constantly be innovating and moving forward, without abandoning who we are.”
That change in mindset led to the development of a fast-casual riff on the Golden Corral concept, which will be unveiled to the buffet chain’s franchisees in about two weeks.
“There’s a little overlap in terms of value and being family friendly,” but the format is classically fast casual, with a drive-thru included, says Trenary. The emphasis is on takeout and delivery.
Trenary did not reveal the particulars of the fast-casual venture, including the name, but a trademark filing indicates that Golden Corral has patented the identity “Homeward Kitchen.”
The CEO describes the menu as “high-quality, slow-cooked food served fast.” Some of the recipes are variations on the ones used by Golden Corral.
The 3,000-square-foot prototype is expected to open in late summer or early fall in North Carolina.
“It’s a whole new growth vehicle for us,” says Trenary.
A steakhouse variation of the Golden Corral concept, called GC Grill House by Golden Corral, could prove a second expansion alternative. One opened more than a year ago, in Lake Placid, Fla., and is “doing great,” says Trenary. A second store fired up its grill on Feb. 13.
Like a traditional Golden Corral, GC Grill features extensive hot and cold buffet lines, but with more of a focus on steak and other grilled meats.
The ideas for both the fast-casual and steak ventures were shaped by Golden Corral’s experimentation and brainstorming during the pandemic. “We took so much away from the pandemic and what could learn, not only about ourselves, but also our customers,” says Trenary.
Not every idea that emerged or was tried during that time proved to be a gamechanger.
“As we tested all these business models and changes, the guest was tolerant, but they weren’t loving it,” says Trenary.
For instance, eight or nine Golden Corrals were eventually outfitted with drive-thrus. “We learned they’re not natural to our brand,” says Trenary. “We’re finding ways to create the same benefits in a more natural way.” An example: “Our new remodels will have to-go entrances.”
The addition of alcohol in a handful of stores similarly proved a meh move. “Our customers aren’t really embracing it,” says Trenary, noting that beer and wine are available in only about 10 stores. “They really see us as a family buffet restaurant.”
But that doesn’t mean what the buffet specialist offers today will be identical to what it puts before consumers five or 10 years from now.
“The buffet is absolutely going to be the cornerstone of our business,” predicts Trenary. But as for everything else? That will depend on the times.
“We subscribe to the idea of a 100-year strategic plan,” the CEO says.
