LANCASTER, PA BUFFETS REOPENING

In Pennsylvania the Covid-19 reopening is coded by color and Lancaster County went Green at the end of June.  The buffet restaurants that have been written about on this site started to reopen for inside dining - but not all of them as buffets (for the time being).  I have not been to any of these for their reopening (yet) but I will share what I have learned about each one. I am not including prices as prices can change. (The masks and six feet distancing are a PA State mandate during Covid-19 and this applies to all restaurants and all businesses so I will not mention this for each restaurant unless there is something in particular to note for a specific restaurant.  Please understand - no mask and you don't get in - don't wear it as required and you will be told to leave. I am not saying this - the State of Pennsylvania is.)

I will start with the very popular Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Shady Maple closed and when take out dining was allowed they reopened for takeout dining with a limited per serving menu. With indoor dining now permitted they have once again opened as a smorgasbord buffet with a modification of its usual offerings. There are rules that must be followed if you are going to dine there during this period of time.  Your temperature will be taken as you enter. You must where a mask to enter the building and you must keep that mask on your face covering your nose and mouth - down to your chin fully. The mask may only be removed when you are sitting at your table eating. When you get up from the table for any reason the mask must be put back on. Disposable gloves will be given to your as you approach the buffet area.  You must put the gloves on before you enter the area with the buffet tables and grills and wear the gloves to take food from the buffet tables, grills, or soda and drink dispensers. As you leave this area to return to your table, there are bins to discard the gloves into. Each time you go up you will be given new gloves to wear. Before you are seated at a table the table will be fully sanitized by staff.  The buffet areas are being intensively cleaned every thirty minutes and serving utensils at the buffet are being regularly changed. Employees are being checked for temperature and health when they come to work. I had hoped that Shady Maple when it reopened like this would have followed the approach that Golden Corral has incorporated now at their restaurants that have have reopened for buffet dining and had employees serving from the buffet tables to your plate (cafeteria style) instead of allowing diners to serve themselves - even with gloved hands. But they have chosen to do it their way instead - which to me imposes more of a risk.  Occupancy of the restaurant is limited to 25% of its dining capacity. With Shady Maple there is normally a very high dining capacity with the many dining rooms it has. At 25% of that there should not be that much of a problem getting in - at least during the week. Though it could mean some long waits even so. Because of reduced capacity they ask that all diners limit their time in the buffet to two hours only - and that is fair.

The buffet menu is the same Mondays to Thursday and is the same at lunch every day. At dinner on Monday to Thursday they add additional items at the drill stations including Carved Smoked Beef Brisket, Carved Honey Ham, Kielbasa, BBQ Ribs, Grilled Chicken, Potato Cakes, Corn Fritters, Pizza, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Delmonico Steak & Baked Potato. On the buffet tables will be 32 Salad Bar items, 5 homemade breads & rolls, 4 soups, 3 cheeses, 9 meats, 14 vegetables, 9 cold desserts, 3 hot desserts, 5 pies, 6 cakes, sundae bar & many beverages. 

On Friday and Saturday what is on the buffet tables is the same but at the grill on Friday are added Salmon, Cajun Catfish, Pizza, Hamburgers, and Prime Rib and on Saturday are added
Salmon, Cajun Catfish, Fried Shrimp, Crab Cakes & NY Strip. Prices are higher on Friday and Saturday.  Over all the menu is not bad - and with what is included on the buffet tables there is certainly enough to eat, The Meals To Go menu is still available for pick up.  The smorgasbord hours are the same as always and they close at 8:00 pm.

Another restaurant that has opened its buffet tables is Dienner's. This is a small restaurant and has always had the earliest closing hours of any of the buffet/menu restaurants in Lancaster. Monday to Thursday and Saturday they still close at 6:00 PM and on Friday instead of being open until 8:00 pm as was the usual Friday closing.  Dienner's is serving the buffer cafeteria-style with diners coming up to the buffet and being served there by an employee.  They are keeping people six feet apart. Masks are required in the restaurant except at your table.  In addition to the buffet there is also menu dining. They are also still doing take out.  After 5 pm on Saturdays there is only the buffet - but the restaurant closes at 6 pm on Saturdays.  As I say, this is a small restaurant. The state mandate is no more than 25% capacity and that would mean a lot with the size of this restaurant in very much limiting how many can be inside at one time. There are always waits to get into Dienner's in the best of times - and with 75% capacity lost - this may be a difficult restaurant to get into. 

Miller's Smorgasbord has also reopened with its buffet in addition to menu dining and a meal that is served to your table. I do not often write about this restaurant as I feel that it exists for the tourists and it has very high prices. This was one of, if not the first Lancaster County PA Dutch buffet restaurants but it has changed greatly over the years. I have been checking on them through their website throughout the Covid-19 closures and there has not been a mention of the virus until recently - and this is what they say are their modifications - "

• We have established a one-way buffet route. Directional arrows and other spacing is shown on the floor.
• Enter the buffet line at the “ENTER HERE” signs and practice social distancing, maintaining six feet between you and the next guest.
• Use of the gloves or parchment paper is strongly encouraged when using utensils to take your food.
• Take food ONLY from one side of the buffet. Do not reach across the buffet."

OK, so from this we only assume that they are providing gloves -  and some type or parchment paper to take items from the buffet. But are they asking you to change gloves every time you go up - it does not indicate that - and will these gloves just be out on the counter and you HOPE everyone puts them on - or takes a clean piece of parchment paper. They are limiting each table to no more than four - so if you have more than four in your family you will need two tables. Nothing here is clear.  I would not feel comfortable here at all - but that is up to you to decide.

Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord was one of the first to open with outdoor dining - but no smorgasbord. They opened at the end of June for indoor dining with menu only. The restaurant is open Tuesdays to Saturday - CLOSED MONDAY and Sunday - and only open until 7:00 pm. On July 24, 2020, the Smorgasbord will reopen. They state the following which is very clear -  "To support distancing, we have established single-direction lanes at our buffets, and we change serving utensils regularly. We are requiring that guests wear masks and gloves when they visit the buffets, and we are providing gloves and glove-disposal containers for that purpose.". Again it would have been better if they went to cafeteria-style serving at the buffet - they are certainly set up for it with an open area behind the buffet tables for employees to serve you - but they have not. They had a survey about a month ago asking many questions about coming to dine at their restaurant and buffet if they were to reopen and I must have suggested a cafeteria style buffet served by staff - at least five times in my responses. Too bad they did not go with that idea. At least they are taking the same precautions as Shady Maple and they are giving gloves each time one goes up to the buffet.  They are open to 50% of their capacity - and they do have two large dining rooms - one very large - and this will make getting in easier with less wait.  This has always been a favorite - and one of the buffets I have thought about a lot while sitting home for the past several months. There does not seem to be any changes in the buffet menu.

Yoders Country Market Restaurant and Buffet has been open with menu dining only for over a month. I had to go searching a lot to find out that the buffet is now open also.  I only found out by looking at the supermarket's newspaper insert which came up on the website. They have decided to have cafeteria style serving at the buffet by employees. That is great! The buffet does not seem to have changed at all - but it appears that each day's buffet will be the same as it says "no featured buffets will be served at this time".  This is a favorite for both of us! They do not say how limited the capacity is - but the state guidelines are 50% so we can assume that is what it is.

Dutch-Way Family Restaurant and Buffet in Gap, PA has only recently opened again for indoor dining. Before that the only thing that was open was the food stand in the supermarket lobby and they had added some platters to their menu - and there were special events such as a chicken BBQ and a rib platter special.  With their reopening the restaurant it is menu only at this time - no buffet. And since this has happened the website says "Menu Coming Soon" - but there still is no menu. I  have been able to get to see their lunch and dinner menu that is current for this time - and it seems limited. There are several entrees that had been in on the buffet including meat loaf, fried chicken, and ham balls.  There has been always a lot here - on the buffet - and since my last visit there in January that I have missed. I am looking forward to when they are able to open the buffet again safely. I might go for the menu - as the food is always good here.

Oregon Dairy has opened its restaurant for indoor dining but it is menu only. The buffet is "temporarily" closed. This is the restaurant with the dairy on the premises made ice cream that is included on the buffet deserts. They have a pretty extensive menu with PA Dutch and other items included. The ice cream is at the ice cream stand outside.  The restaurant is only open until 7:00pm.

Lititz Family Cupboard is open but here also the buffet is temporarily closed and they are serving menu only.  They are open from Monday to Thursday to 7:00 pm and Friday and Saturday until 8:00 pm.  Their menu also is rather extensive.

I have not written about Good and Plenty Restaurant which is a family style PA Dutch all you care to eat restaurant. In normal times your family sits at a long table with other people and pass the serving platters around the table - everyone taking what they want and filling their plates. This restaurant reopened in July for both menu dining and family style dining - BUT you do not sit with strangers. Each table will be your family only - and you will be served the same way. The food was always good at Good and Plenty and you did get a lot. It has been years since I have been there as I much prefer not sitting with people I don't know and eating at the pace of the group at the table. I much rather go up and get what I want and eat at my leisure. With you and yours only being served family style that is much different and to me better. Enough for me to consider going back while this is going on.

The Hershey Farm Restaurant in Ronks, PA has also opened for indoor dining and has recently reopened its buffet. I do not write much about this restaurant as the last time we were there we experienced many problems including an infestation of flies around the buffet foods - and we decided we we would not go back. They are not having anyone go up to the buffet at all on their own - but will ask you at your table what to bring you from the buffet. This is certainly a safe way to do it - but without seeing what there is and knowing if you want it can be a problem plus you are depending on that server being available to go and get what you want - and how much of it you want when you are ready for it.

The Golden Corral in Lancaster, PA has just reopened and they are serving the buffet indoors. They are serving you cafeteria-style at the buffet counters. A server will put what you want on your plate.  With all of the really good buffets in Lancaster we tend to only go to the Golden Corral there if it is a Sunday night and all other buffets are closed or we are too late to get to one of the other buffets and Golden Corral is open later.

These are just about all of the all you care to eat restaurants in Lancaster, PA.  As you see some are not serving buffet now and some are.  Whether it is safe to go to a buffet now is up to you - and my feeling is that the ones that are serving you or are making sure that everyone has gloves on that will be changed each trip up are the safer choices. One thing that gives me hope about all of this is I saw a news story that said buffets are dead because of Covid-19 and will never be again. Well that is certainly not true!

Will I go? I am, right now, undecided. One thing I keep watching are the Covid-19 updates for Pennsylvania - which very recently have not been good and Lancaster County has the highest daily counts of the counties in the Susquehanna Valley. I would love to go to a buffet again - as soon as possible - but it is not worth dying for.  I will keep a close watch on all of this and if I do go, you will hear about it - right here on this site!

The Future of Buffets - After Covid-19

The last time I was at a buffet was mid-March, 2020. It was a usual Friday night at Flaming Grill Buffet in Baldwin, New York. We had been going with some concerns - carrying hand sanitizer in our pockets to clean our hands after going up to the buffet tables, using napkins to touch serving pieces and disposing of the napkins when we got back to the table.  At that point there had not been one case reported in this area - or in this county. The restaurant had noticeably less diners - many more open tables and that has gradually been increasing since February.  What I remember from that meal - and I think of this a lot - because I really miss it a lot -and have been craving a few of the dishes that I liked the most there. One, in particular, and I am not sure why was a seafood soap that was a thickened whitish grey broth containing eggdrop, tofu, bits of shrimp, and fake crab (krab) chunks. It was very tasty - and satisfying. I miss that soup - and I miss the overly sweet spare ribs - and for some reason I started eating their chicken nuggets covered in sweet and sour sauce. Not the highest of Asian cuisine but tasty.  And now, with understandable restrictions on New York State restaurants - and this buffet - which is part of a chain - the restaurant is closed as it was not set up to do take out unless the takeout was self-served from the buffet. I wonder if it will open again - and what will it be like?

Golden Corral - the most national of buffet chains - has closed all of its company owned locations due to Covid-19 - following a nationwide non-contact conference with its restaurant managers, employees, and franchise holders - and determined that for everyone's safety and well being - it would close. The franchised Golden Corrals were left to make their own decisions but were expected to follow any and all guidelines determined by the states that they were located in.  Some remained open as take out only - and the menu that I was able to see was a single platter of selected meat entree, vegetable, and potato. Not at all buffet but you were getting for example a piece of Golden Corral sirloin steak cooked on the grill - as it is in the restaurant - and you picked the vegetable and potato from the selection offered. I was not able to see a price - which I hope would have been significantly less than the price of a buffet dinner.

As some states have started to re-open, some Golden Corrals will be reopening as buffets again - but with a very different approach. What these have chosen to do is to serve cafeteria style - still a buffet - still all you care to eat - but you go up to the counters and an employee will put the food you wish on your plate - with a limited number of people up to the counters at one time and full social distancing being followed - six feet apart.  This seems to me to be the most logical and safest way to do it.  They have stated that there are sanitizing stations throughout the restaurant. The counters will be sanitized every 30 minutes. The employees will wash their hands on a schedule.  And most important - no one gets near the food but those serving it.

Some other ideas that I have heard involve everyone getting their own serving utensils - one variation I heard of that was these would be disposable. I have to say that this is not a good idea at all.  Over my many years at buffets - I do not trust anyone to not put that utensil to their mouth and then put it into the serving tray - just because they don't think! And then that utensil will go from one tray to the next - transferring what ever is in one tray to the others. Not a good idea at all.

The Lancaster buffets right now are all closed.  Shady Maple has meals to go from the Shady Maple Supermarket - which they have pretty much always have had. Dutch Way Gap's restaurant is closed but they too are selling dinners from their supermarket and have been having some special features -  not buffet in any way - being offered.  One was barbecue ribs offered in platters at their snack bar outside the supermarket. One big event was a chicken barbecue  - chicken barbecue is a popular event in Lancaster County. Chicken is grilled on a outdoor grill and is sold by the platter with sides or sold as in number of pieces.  A few weeks ago, Dutch Way Gap had a chicken barbecue that you went into the closed restaurant lobby to pay for and then get your purchased chicken outside.  Bird in Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord has been closed - along with other Bird-in-Hand owned properties - but they announced for Mother's Day that they would start serving take out dinners. After Mother's Day a menu would be posted on their website to continue take out dinners that would be ordered through a menu form online and then picked up at the restaurant.  Yoder's Restaurant and Buffet is closed. They are offering Mother's Day meals to go with advanced ordering.

I have seen several articles saying that there will be no more buffet restaurants - but, personally, I don't see that happening. First, these are well established businesses that want to find a way to continue. Second - when everything settles down - and things start to get back to near normal - there are ways to continue the buffet style of eating - but perhaps with servers serving as Golden Corral plans to do now. What this might do to the price to have the additional employees that will be required to do this is anyone's guess.  But before all of this - at a Golden Corral to use that as an example - there were employees behind just about every counter refilling trays, cooking and serving from the grill area, and maintaining the buffet. It would not take many more to add servers to a section. It would slow things down a lot - but it keeps the restaurant in business - and those of us that prefer this way of dining happy.

Until then, I think of all of these restaurants - and when I was there last - and what I have enjoyed eating at each of them. Golden Corral sirloin steak rare.  Prime Rib carved to your plate at Dutch Way Gap. Chicken Bot Bie and chicken corn soup at Bird-in-Hand .  Seasoned steak at Yoders. I miss it. And my mouth is watering as I write this.

May you all be safe and healthy! Use good common sense so that you can once again enjoy a good buffet meal.

Buffets and the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

I never figured that my next article to appear on this site after so long would be this article. The Coronavirus is a reality around the world and here in the US many specific protection instructions have been issued by the Federal, State, and Local governments with the C.D.C. guidelines as a basis in an attempt to both keep as many as possible safe - and to try to control further outbreaks. I am not going into any of the details of that but I am going to talk about what is happening now at buffets across the US.

Up to last weekend we were still going to the Asian buffet that we have been regularly going to for some time now. It is basically one of the few buffets left in this area that is both affordable and decent.  We were aware of the warnings in regard to buffets and salad bars which primarily were warning about common serving utensils that everyone touches.  We were using hand sanitizer after every trip up to the buffet and last week that was combined with using a napkin to hold the utensil and then hand sanitizer back at the table before eating what was on the plate. This week as things in this  county got worse I had second thoughts about going back for awhile.  And we will not be going back.

Today I got three emails from various buffets - as I - as you could also be - am on their email lists. All were worded very much the same and I suspect that these guidelines were issued by the C.D.C. to buffet restaurants - OR - two buffets that are not national saw the email sent out by Golden Corral which is a national chain.  The emails were from Golden Corral, Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA, and Bird in Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord plus their other vacation and dining properties - the last two both PA Dutch Lancaster County buffets.  The most extensive was from Golden Corral and to just have this out to everyone I will quote the  body of the email -

"The health, safety and well-being of our co-workers, guests and communities are always our top priority. We are deeply committed to delivering on that promise. For 47 years our brand has specialized in serving our local communities across the country. 

Beginning in January, in consultation with national, state, and local health authorities, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), we implemented additional preventive measures to maintain a clean and safe environment for our co-workers and our guests. 

• We have established a task force to continue to closely monitor this dynamic situation and are fully prepared to adapt and modify should circumstances dictate on a restaurant by restaurant basis 
• We are strictly enforcing our longstanding policy of requiring team members to stay home if they show or report any signs of illness
• Sanitizing the surfaces of all key guest touch-points a minimum of every 30 minutes
• Changing all serving utensils a minimum of every 30 minutes
• Diligently following current cleaning procedures using approved and effective sanitizing products
• Reinforcing stringent hand-washing practices requiring employees to wash their hands a minimum of every 20 minutes or between tasks
• Making sure all hand sanitizer stations are stocked and operating properly, as well as adding additional sanitizing stations throughout the restaurant

It is important to remember that the coronavirus in not a foodborne illness. We are in constant communication with managers at all Golden Corral^® restaurants across the country and have set up an internal website to provide them with updated information and other guidelines as the situation evolves.

We appreciate the trust and support of our loyal guests and we look forward to continuing to serve you in our company and franchised restaurants across the country."

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Here is Bird in Hand and there are things in here that apply also to their hotels and the dinner theater stage that is located at Bird in Hand Family Restaurant (to explain some of the non-restaurant related steps they are doing - 

"As we continue to monitor developments of the coronavirus, our focus will be the safety and well-being of our guests, staff and communities.  We continue to adhere to guidelines provided by the CDC and would like to provide the following updates:

Precautionary measures at our properties:

• We follow cleaning, sanitation and disinfection protocols that meet or exceed industry guidelines and use EPA-approved disinfectants.  Given current concerns with COVID-19, we are increasing our cleaning regimen and focusing our efforts on all high-traffic, frequently-touched areas.
• Our lodging properties will be removing some of the extra linens and decorative pillows from the rooms. We will continue to clean and disinfect all guest areas diligently.
• At our Restaurant, we are using individual packets of salt, pepper and ketchup, and we have installed hand sanitizers around our buffet and are offering plastic gloves for buffet utensils.
• Hand sanitizer stations will be added to our Stage for when shows start in April and we will do extra cleanings after each show.  Our meet and greets with cast will be evaluated closer to our show openings in April.
• We are reinforcing with our staff members the recommended steps from the CDC to prevent the spread of germs.  These guidelines include: wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoid close contact with people who are sick, cover a cough or sneeze, avoid touching your face and stay home if you have flu-like symptoms.
• We will discuss any concerns regarding upcoming travel or events directly with guests in terms of cancellation or ticket exchanges.

Bird-in-Hand is committed to protecting the health and safety of our staff and guests and will continue to take this situation very seriously and implement measures in line with the recommendations from the CDC and other health agencies.  We are confident our properties continue to be safe and ready to serve our guests, and we look forward to seeing you on your next trip to Bird-in-Hand."

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Shady Maple has their notice formatted as an image so I cannot copy it here but I will add the link to the image for you to look at..  This is written for all of the Shady Maple business in the one location in East Earl, PA which include the Smorgasbord, the Supermarket, and a Cafe with salad bar located in the building with the supermarket.  This is the least detailed of the steps being taken and we can only hope that they are including what is being done at the other buffets here and just did not include those details as the others did - but it would have been wise for them to have talked about smorgasbord serving surfaces and the serving utensils.  But Shady Maple has always been a very conscientious restaurant and buffet and their image to the community both local and beyond is extremely important to them - so please do not judge them for not being as detailed as some - as it is likely they are doing it all just as the others are.

https://www.shady-maple.com/media/Images/_imageResize/Customer-Virus-Letter.jpghttps://www.shady-maple.com/media/Images/_imageResize/Customer-Virus-Letter.jpg

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Golden Corral, as I started out saying is the most extensive - and that is not surprising because their entire business is buffets and their focus is only on buffets.  I have looked at Yoder's and Dutch Way's restaurants' websites and there is nothing on their websites about any of this. This may change - I don't know.  Both of these businesses focus more on their supermarkets than their restaurants - which does not mean that they are not taking precautions - if one went to the door of either you might see a similar notice. They also do not get as many tourists as the other two. They are both off at the very edge of the active tourist area and neither have the tourist status that Shady Maple or Bird-In-Hand have.

Would any of these emails encourage me to go to one of these buffets right now?  No. Why?  For the time being -  it is better not to take any unnecessary risks for a buffet meal. I might go to a restaurant that is not a buffet as there is only contact with serving utensils and plates by employees who hopefully following all guidelines. We have been going to a  fast food restaurant that we know well and can see preparation and those employees wearing gloves.  All of this is enough to make one paranoid about even leaving the house - and for anyone in a high risk category - that might be something to pay heed to. 

I can see a lot of potentially challenging or political comments made to this post so I am closing it to all comments - which is a very unusual thing for me to do.  And just to be clear - I am not a doctor or medical professional and I am not giving or suggesting any medical advice here. I am just a guy who really likes to eat in buffets - and now for awhile that is not going to happen.

One more comment - in addition for my concern for my wife's and my health - to go to any of these buffets we would have to travel one or two states away, and I would not want to have carried anything from here to where any of these are located - and in particular Lancaster County where the population is heavily Amish - and while they do go to regular doctors and hospitals - they tend to be in less contact with many of the even common diseases.

Everyone, please stay healthy - do what is necessary to protect yourself - and let's all hope and pray that something is found to stop the spread, treat those who are effected, and that a vaccine is developed quickly so that we can all stay immune from this happening again.


UPDATE:

On March 21, 2020, Bird in Hand Family Restaurant and Smorgasbord closed to seated dining and is only open for take out meals. from 6 am to 6 pm.