Ovations Brands AKA Food Management Partners Is At It AGAIN!

I am sorry to interrupt our series on the Top Buffets of 2015, but this is just too major to not report on right now. I was recently informed by one of our readers "in the know" that a Fire Mountain Buffet (one of the Ovation Brands/OCB buffets) was recently closed in Chippewa Township, PA. It seemed to me that perhaps this was a random closing until just searching for our favorite Ryan's Buffet in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We looked at the Ryan's locations listings as we wanted to sign up at that location for Ryan's coupons through the "Crave Connection" club. When I searched the locations, no location came up for Fredericksburg. We have been there many times and as recently as August. It was then that I started to realize that Corporate is on the rampage again - and sure enough, I confirmed that the Fredericksburg, VA Ryans was closed.

I started to do a little more digging and not only were these two buffet restaurants closed but 74 buffets including Old Country Buffet, Hometown Buffet, Ryan’s, Fire Mountain and Country Buffet restaurants. This was reported on February 4, 2016 so this happened just prior. I was told that the closings were done in typical Ovation Brands fashion - employees and management arrived for work to find the doors locked shut and were told by Corporate representatives that they no longer worked there. Goodbye, farewell, no notice, you are gone! This is exactly what happened in 2008 and then again in 2011 and still again in 2012 when Ovation Brands, then called Buffets, Inc. went across the country closing buffet restaurants. This past August, 2015 Ovation Brands was bought by Food Management Partners and it was speculated as to what they would do with the chain of buffets that they acquired - all of the Old Country Buffet, Hometown Buffet, Ryan’s, Fire Mountain and Country Buffet restaurants. Well now we know. 

Quoting from The Free Lance Star - Fredericksburg.com -  “Since that time, we have continued to execute former management’s operating plan to stabilize and enhance the performance of the company,” Peter Donbavand, Ovation Brands’ vice president of business development said in a news release. “However, based on ongoing assessments of individual restaurants, it is necessary to shutter locations for the continued viability of the brands and our employees.”  He goes on to say that they will continue to operate the remaining buffets that they acquired as they are "financially viable".  From the same source he is also quoted as saying, “We know that these decisions are not easy, however, we strongly believe that this direction is best for the long-term health of all brands.”

There is indication that when Food Management Partners took over they cut salaries and benefits of both restaurant managers and employees. These guys came in with a heavy fist.

The Ryan's in Fredericksburg, VA was a favorite of ours. It was a must stop when going through that area - on the way south and then again when on the way back north. If I had to say what was the best Ryans we have ever been to it would be the Fredericksburg Ryans. It was a Ryans that maintained many of the featured entrees from the original Ryans menu and while it has to incorporate many of the dishes from OCB after the so-called merge of the chains, it kept serving Ryan's favorites. It had the best grill of any Ryans that we have ever been to - with people at the grill cooking who knew what they were doing. Ask for a steak rare - and if they did not have one they put a steak on and cooked it for you - with an apology that it would take several minutes. And then when it was done the person behind the grill would come out to your table with the steak on a plate and hand it to you. No other Ryans ever came close to that in our experience. We were so disheartened when we learned that it was closed. Table staff were good as well - as was management. We went into Ryans this past August with a Crave Connection email coupon. The cashier looked at the coupon and was confused - as it was offering dinner at a price higher than what they charged. She called over the management and we explained that the coupon came from out of Virginia. Not a problem - he took their current price and discounted it to the same percentage as the coupon would have come to had we used it at home. All with a smile. This specific restaurant will be sorely missed.  If they were not doing well, it can not be due to location - they were located in the middle of a major shopping center, and it cannot be due to competition - there is no OCB for many miles and the only other buffet chain - but not that close - is Golden Corral. As I have witnessed, Corporate seems to push these restaurants to the point that they cannot maintain adequate staffing which ultimately results in poor customer service and satisfaction - plus they push the OCB menu on the other restaurants that is not at all as good as, for example, the original Ryan's menu was.  Heck, they do this with OCBs as well!

Our condolences go out to all of the employees and managers who have lost their jobs. I am so sorry to learn that this has happened to all of you by this corporation once again. We invite any employee or manager who would like to leave a comment about what happened at your location and what went down that day that they showed up to tell you to go home (please be as civil as possible as we will not print anything that is defaming or vulgar - and I know that this is how you are all feeling right now).

Now I am off to find out what other Ryans that we have gone to are now gone too.

Top Buffets of 2015 will continue with the next article.