Are We Buffet Crazy?

Many Highlands CountyResidents Tout The Convenience, Price - Drive down U.S. 27 and look at the restaurants. The question is, why are there so many buffets? And some of them are huge.

Why does Highlands County have so many buffets? And why do people like buffets so much?

"Because the old people like them," said Sandy Herring, a senior herself, walking toward the entrance of Homer's Buffet. "And because they're cheap. They sit around Barnhill's and talk until 4 o'clock. It's a social thing."

Actually, said Mark Tharp II, an assistant manager and co-owner of Golden Corral in Lake Placid, that hits close to the truth.

According to the U.S. Census, 31 percent of Highlands County is 65 years or older, and that's among the highest of any Florida county. Only 12 percent of the average Americans are 65 or older.

The two biggest demographics among Golden Corral customers are seniors and young families, Tharp said, so Highlands is a perfect spot for a buffet.

Calorie Count

Women should consume about 1,400 calories per day, men about 1,800 calories, advised California weight-loss coach Jonny Bowden, author of Living the Low-Carb Life.

But the average Thanksgiving diner eats 3,000 calories, said Wendy Bumgardner, writing for Your Guide to Walking.

About.com measured the calories at a Chinese buffet: two serving spoons full of sweet and sour chicken with extra sauce, 500 calories. Fried rice, wonton soup, two egg rolls. Hey, it's a buffet, eat all you want, right? But it's 100 calories per egg roll.

And on the side, three deep fried cheese wontons, 250 calories.

"This rather large meal is common at Chinese buffets," said Shereen Jeptvig, writing for Your Guide to Nutrition. "This example meal would contain around 1,250 calories, and that doesn't include any beverage or dessert."

Or seconds. Remember, it's not all you should eat, or all you'd care to eat, but all you can eat.

But buffets are also a place which serve both tasty and healthy meals at the same time.

At Homer's, the salad bar includes whole bananas, apples and oranges. There's also a fresh garden salad, seafood salad, cole slaw and canned peaches. There's baked chicken as well as fried chicken, macaroni cheese and carrots.

"I bring my own salad dressing," said LaDonna Vaughn, a friend of Herring's. "I want know what's in it."
Vaughn has lost 55 pounds, and still eats at buffets.

On the other side of Sebring Plaza is Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs. At 5 p.m., the local franchise puts pizza back on the all-day buffet, a fact which the locals must know because that's when the dining room started to fill. Seven customers walked in, then an entire out-of-town baseball team. The food bar also included a salad bowl and 19 ingredients: spaghetti sauce, potatoes and gravy, green beans and two soups.

What do customers want?

"They're looking for a good price and a variety of food," said franchisee Keith Schroeder, "and they're looking for someplace where they can come in, grab something quick, and go."

Schroeder has co-owned the place since January 2006 with his wife Donna, who was a former manager at Beef O'Brady's. They're installing a sports bar inside Hungry Howie's, called Skeeter's. Seven TVs already dot the walls. Pizza and beer complement each other, he figures.

Most local buffets cater to older customers. At Hungry Howie's, the Senior Sunday Buffet includes a drink for $4.99.

At Golden Corral, said Mark Tharp I, the $5.95 Early Bird Special, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., also attracts a senior crowd. At 3 p.m. on a Wednesday, there are 30 customers in the restaurant - all seniors, even though mid-afternoon is a time when most cafes are operating on a skeleton staff.

In a recent Highlands Today contest, diners voted Golden Corral the best early bird buffet, the best salad bar, the best breakfast, and the best overall buffet.

A Growing Business

Golden Corral is a Highlands County success story for the Tharps. When Mark Tharp I bought the franchise in 1990, it was in sad shape, he admitted.

"It was a fixer-upper," he said dryly. "It had a bad reputation. It was losing money."

At a time when the Raleigh, N.C. corporation wasn't selling many franchises, it sold the Lake Placid shop to Tharp. He wanted the Sebring store too - it was on Little Lake Jackson, where the Ming Tong Chinese buffet operates today - but the corporation was making money on that one.

A year later, sales at the Lake Placid store increased 55 percent, Tharp said.

"We've never had an unprofitable year since," Tharp said.

Today, the 195-seat Golden Corral has 35 employees. There are so many serving dishes on the food bar, Tharp hasn't counted them all, but they include 11 veggies, four soups, a burger bar, a taco bar with enchiladas and quesadillas, 15 to 20 meats, and five sugar-free desserts (including blueberry pie).
In January, at the height of the influx of snowbirds from Northern states, it's difficult to find a parking space, Tharp said.

"We make the employees park on the grass," said Ray Tharp, one of the two sons who co-manage the restaurant. This Golden Corral made the company's Elite 20, based on customer feedback, sales growth and reports from secret shoppers.

Since the Sebring store closed, the Tharps are looking for a location. The one in front of Home Depot fell through, but Mark Tharp I wants a spot between Lake Jackson and Sun N' Lake.

Where The Seniors Eat

Bill Yoder loves China Buffet in Avon Park. "It's clean. They have a great variety of food. There's five different kinds of chicken. There's sesame chicken, coconut chicken, Szechwan chicken, General Tsao chicken, sweet and sour chicken," he said, sounding just a little like Benjamin Buford Blue, "Bubba" in "Forrest Gump."

"The crab Rangoon is very good, but the egg drop soup is my favorite," said Yoder.

His other favorite? He likes the Jacaranda. "For the simple reason they have table cloths," Yoder said. Well, then there's the charming old hotel itself, and that fried chicken with a unique, slightly salty, vaguely cornbread batter.

"We like Homer's," said Jean Termeer. "I like their selection. They have a big variety of desserts, and we're big dessert fans. I'm a big fan of their tornado cake. It's a dark cake with coconut, and with a dessert sauce on top of that."

There were over 20 different desserts on a recent Friday morning.

But why does she like buffets in general?

"I like being able to choose the food and the amounts," Termeer said.

And there's another reason why people like buffets, Tharp said. "We have the most varied menu for all concepts."

There's a slow-roasted sirloin steak, an applewood bacon wrapped sirloin. "We have nine or 10 meats on the buffet all the time," Tharp said. "It may not be the cheapest buffet in town, but we have jumbo shrimp and sirloin on the buffet every night."