When Viejas reopened in May, it was offering all-you-can-eat service in its 550-seat buffet on Fridays-Sundays only. (Pam Kragen / The San Diego Union-Tribune) The exceptions, at least so far, are casinos in Jamul, Alpine and Valley Center, that are offering an all-you-can-eat menu in their reduced-capacity buffet dining rooms, but with seated table service. Most of the region’s tribal-run casinos have reopened for business in the past two weeks, but virtually all of their buffets remain closed.

Some will never return, like San Diego’s 42-year-old Souplantation restaurant chain, which announced the permanent closure of its 97 restaurants in May. Roadside billboards from El Cajon to Rainbow regularly promoted endless portions of lobster tails, crab legs and prime rib at absurdly low prices.īut because buffets have been linked worldwide to coronavirus transmissions, all self-service restaurants have been closed nationwide since pandemic shutdowns began in mid-March.

As competition for visitor dollars has heated up between local casinos in recent years, one of the most-popular ways the Indian-run gaming venues have built customer loyalty is their all-you-can-eat buffets.

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