“ Covid was the impetus to make changes that are now sweeping the industry .”
— Brett Ewing , Principal , Cuningham Group Architecture
For decades to follow , buffets were loss leaders designed to keep gamblers on-property , explains Brett Ewing , principal , Cuningham Group Architecture . “ Different properties could determine to the dollar the economics , how much they made on the players . The baby boomer crowd really liked the buffet .”
In the 1980s and ’ 90s , buffets went super-size , and in the mid- 2000s , “ reached the height of their grandiosity , fitted out with really expensive materials ,” says John Ruiz , principal and managing member of R2Architects . Buffets became entertainment , in keeping with the food-TV trend that started around the same time .
“ In the dessert station , they ’ d be out there with a torch , bronzing the cream on the Bananas Foster ,” he says . “ These buffets were very luxuriously designed and beautifully appointed .”
But big or small , buffets were never cost-efficient for operators ; on average , about half of the food was left over and had to be discarded . Operators now are trying to reduce that ratio , not just to save money but in keeping with their sense of social responsibility . According to the U . S . Department of Agriculture , reducing food waste could not only help ease hunger but also mitigate the effects of landfill gases on the climate .
“ We always hear from operators about the tremendous cost of operation — a significant food waste cost , labor costs across the entire spectrum of hospitality , and the footprint and capital to fit out the space , build it and maintain it ,” says Ruiz . “ It just becomes a really expensive operation .”
In addition , the original buffet concept — heaping helpings of crab legs and pasta , piled up under heat lamps — didn ’ t keep up with “ the trend toward fast-casual freshness , and the big push for ethnic and global food ,” says Natina James , senior associate with the Cuningham Group .
By some estimates , the pandemic shut down more than 40 buffets in Las Vegas alone ; many tribal casinos in Southern California have dispensed with the concept , along with many properties around the country .
Ewing says the shift was overdue . The viral outbreak “ accelerated a change that was ready to happen . It was the impetus to make changes that are now sweeping across the industry .”
Mehmet Erdem , associate professor at the William F . Harrah College of Hospitality at the University of Nevada , Las Vegas , would likely agree . He recently told Nevada Public Radio , “ Covid taught the industry ( that ) we need to do more with less and generate revenue more carefully . … Revenue techniques didn ’ t happen just after Covid , but Covid put it more in focus .”
Yet those high-end buffets have endured . Along with Bacchanal , they include AYCE ( All You Can Eat ) at the Las Vegas Palms , owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians ; the Buffet at Bellagio , which returned in 2021 with live cooking and carving stations ; and Wicked Spoon at Cosmopolitan , its culinary couture jazzed up by delicacies like squid-ink pasta and wild boar .
These aren ’ t the budget buffets of old , where guests could chow down for a couple of dollars . Some higher-end eateries — mostly a Vegas phenomenon — command up to $ 75 per head .
Italian station at Bacchanal
Vegan menu options at Bacchanal
Seafood menu options at Bacchanal
2023 CASINO STYLE 17