10 Buffet Chains That Closed Locations—and What Survived
Golden Corral, Cicis, Pizza Hut, Sizzler, Luby’s, and Ponderosa or Bonanza still have official operating restaurant information. Old Country Buffet, HomeTown Buffet, Ryan’s, and Furr’s belong to the history of an operator group that entered liquidation. Those are different outcomes: a closed restaurant, a liquidated company, and a vanished brand are not interchangeable.
Which buffet chains closed, and which still operate?
The table separates the brand from the restaurant you might visit. Reviewed October 21, 2026; current directories describe a moment in time, while bankruptcy dates describe historical events. A missing locator is not proof that every restaurant has closed.
On a small screen, scroll the table sideways to see all four columns.
| Brand | Brand status | Restaurant status | Geography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Corral | Operating buffet chain | Use its official locator for individual addresses. | U.S.; national footprint |
| Cicis | Operating pizza-buffet chain | 269 U.S. locations listed; this is a directory snapshot. | U.S.; 134 listed in Texas |
| Pizza Hut | Operating pizza brand | Dine-in, delivery, and carryout; buffet service varies by restaurant. | Global; check U.S. stores separately |
| Sizzler | Operating steakhouse and salad-bar brand | Corona, California, publishes an address, hours, and ordering. | U.S.; California example below |
| Luby’s | Operating cafeteria brand | Official list includes Houston, Austin, Dallas, and other Texas cities. | Texas |
| Ponderosa and Bonanza | Operating steakhouse brands | Official site links ordering in Indiana and Ohio; ask about buffet hours. | U.S.; Indiana and Ohio examples |
| Old Country Buffet | Legacy brand of the liquidated operator group | Court history does not establish today’s status of a particular address. | Historical U.S. chain |
| HomeTown Buffet | Legacy brand; named corporate debtor | Do not treat a former site or reused name as a current chain restaurant. | Historical U.S. chain |
| Ryan’s | Legacy brand of the liquidated operator group | A similar restaurant name does not establish continuity with the chain. | Historical U.S. chain |
| Furr’s | Legacy brand of the liquidated operator group | The former operator’s liquidation is separate from ownership of a building. | Historical U.S. chain |
This preserves the ten entries from the earlier article, including cafeteria and steakhouse formats that differ from a self-serve buffet. The order groups operating systems first and legacy names last; the numbers are navigation, not a ranking of closure severity or food quality. Ponderosa and Bonanza remain one paired entry. For a trip, the address and service hours matter more than the size of the brand.
10 buffet chains: current status and surviving locations
10. Golden Corral
Status: operating buffet chain. Golden Corral’s official all-locations page lists restaurants by state, with addresses, phone numbers, and service details. Its careers page describes more than 350 restaurants across 38 states and Puerto Rico; that company description is not a count of doors open today.
Use the individual restaurant information to distinguish a local closure from the wider chain. An old closure story about one franchise or city cannot answer whether a different Golden Corral serves dinner tonight.
9. Cicis
Status: operating pizza-buffet chain. The official locator lists 269 Cicis locations in the United States, including 134 in Texas, on the review date. These are listed locations, not a guarantee of service at every address at every hour.
Cicis also appears in a March 3, 2021 bankruptcy-court opinion. The operating locator illustrates why a bankruptcy record and the end of a restaurant brand are different questions. Choose a location before checking its buffet hours, ordering options, or price.
8. Pizza Hut
Status: operating global pizza chain; buffet availability is local. Yum’s 2025 Form 10-K reported 19,974 units worldwide at the end of 2025, including the Pizza Hut division’s Telepizza units. That historical division total is not a count of U.S. buffets. The filing describes delivery, carryout, casual dining, and express channels.
Yum’s September 1, 2026 announcement confirms the sale of Pizza Hut outside mainland China to LongRange Capital, following the separate mainland China sale on August 7. A completed sale does not mean restaurants closed. Ask the restaurant specifically about buffet service; a dine-in listing alone does not promise it.
7. Sizzler
Status: operating steakhouse and salad-bar brand. Sizzler maintains an official locator. Its Corona restaurant at 1461 Rimpau Avenue, California publishes regular hours, a phone number, a menu, and ordering links. This is a concrete operating example rather than an inferred chainwide store count.
A steakhouse with a salad bar is not the same dining format as an unlimited hot-food buffet. Check the selected restaurant’s menu and ask which salad-bar options are available with your meal.
6. Luby’s
Status: operating Texas cafeteria brand. The official locations list includes restaurants in Houston, Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and other Texas cities. The familiar name still has restaurants to visit; an older corporate closure prediction is not a substitute for checking an address.
Luby’s cafeteria format is another reason to read beyond a “buffet chains closing” headline. Choosing dishes along a serving line does not by itself mean an unlimited meal. Check the local menu and ordering details before comparing its value with an all-you-can-eat restaurant.
5. Ponderosa and Bonanza
Status: operating steakhouse brands. The official paired-brand website advertises dine-in and takeout and links ordering for Scottsburg, Indiana, and Columbus and Hillsboro, Ohio. Its locator is a separate tool for finding a restaurant; a map that fails to load is not evidence of a shutdown.
Confirm the selected location’s buffet schedule directly. A restaurant may offer dine-in or takeout without offering every service pictured in an older review. Treat a remembered location and a currently listed franchise as separate addresses until they match.
4. Old Country Buffet
Status: legacy brand of the former Fresh Acquisitions group. The court record names Old Country Buffet among its operating names. That establishes the connection to the bankruptcy discussed below, not a current restaurant directory. Search an exact address rather than assuming a restaurant in an old buffet building still belongs to this chain.
3. HomeTown Buffet
Status: legacy brand with a named debtor company. Hometown Buffet, Inc. appears in the court’s list of related debtors. The corporate name, the restaurant sign, and ownership of a former property are separate matters. For a meal today, use a restaurant’s current identity and contact details rather than a historical chain listing.
2. Ryan’s
Status: legacy brand of the same operator group. The opinion identifies Ryan’s and Ryan’s Restaurant Group, LLC. A current restaurant called Ryan’s does not automatically belong to that former system. Match the operator and address before treating a similarly named business as a surviving chain location.
1. Furr’s
Status: legacy brand named in the liquidation history. Furr’s appears among the group’s former operating names. Neither that history nor an empty restaurant establishes that a trademark could never return. The useful distinction is between the old operator’s fate and a particular business now serving customers.
HomeTown Buffet, Old Country Buffet, and Ryan’s: what the filings show
The May 23, 2025 federal bankruptcy-court opinion provides this short chronology:
- April 20, 2021: Fresh Acquisitions and related entities filed Chapter 11 petitions.
- December 20, 2021: the court confirmed a liquidation plan.
- May 23, 2025: the later opinion addressed a post-confirmation property-transfer dispute.
It is a legal history, not a present-day store census. A brand, a debtor company, and a restaurant property can have different outcomes.
How to verify a location before you travel
Start with a chain’s official locator and open the page for the exact address. For example, Golden Corral’s directory links individual restaurant information, while Sizzler’s Corona page provides hours and a phone number. Match the city and street, then call if the buffet schedule is important to your visit.
Ask whether the dining room is open, whether buffet or salad-bar service is offered, and when that service ends. Confirm the date of your visit, especially for weekends and holidays. A restaurant can operate while offering a different format from the one you remember. A failed map, missing page, or unanswered call is a reason to check another channel; none alone establishes permanent closure.
For value, compare the whole meal: drinks, children’s pricing, service hours, and any extra charges you would actually pay. Our guide to saving on a restaurant meal covers those checks. Changes to familiar restaurant features also appear in our look at McDonald’s PlayPlaces; for another food comparison, see the frozen-pizza label guide.
Sources, review date, and corrections
Reviewed October 21, 2026. Current restaurant information is linked in the six operating-brand entries. The two court opinions support dated corporate history; Yum’s annual filing supplies a year-end 2025 division total. These sources answer different questions and should not be combined into a current closure count.
The Cicis directory figure has been updated from 271 to 269 listed U.S. locations. Pizza Hut’s completed sale is supported by the September 1 corporate release linked above. The older suggestion that missing locators establish complete brand closure has been removed: liquidation records and address-level restaurant information are separate evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all of these buffet chains completely closed?
No. Six entries have current official restaurant information, including Golden Corral and Cicis. The other four share the former operator’s liquidation history. That history does not establish the status of every similarly named restaurant or former building. Use the table to separate the brand question from the address you want to visit.
How can I check whether a location is open?
Find the exact address in the official locator, open its restaurant page, and check hours and service details. Call to confirm buffet availability for your planned visit. A delivery listing or an open dining room does not necessarily include a buffet; ask about that service specifically before traveling.
