Royal Fork Buffet closing after more than 30 years of business
Customers at Royal Fork Buffet in Kildonan Crossing are loading up their plates with food for what could be the last time.
The well-known buffet-style restaurant announced it will be closing its doors for good by Dec. 21.
“We found out a week ago,” said Alma Frenkow, assistant manager of Royal Fork Buffet. “Our reaction is (we are) very sad, along with the customers, especially our regulars.”
Frenkow said in March of 2020 the restaurant was forced to close for dine in due to COVID-19 restrictions.
With the exception of a brief reopening in the summer of 2020, they could only offer take out until being allowed to fully reopen in July of 2021.
She said the restaurant is only doing 20 per cent of the business it used to before the pandemic, but prior to COVID lockdowns they were a very busy buffet.
“We were lined up to the door, and everybody had to wait for about an hour just to get a table.”
Another buffet-style restaurant in Winnipeg is Mongo’s Grill, where customers can build their own stir-fry’s that are grilled to order.
Regional Manager, Russ Hart said when COVID-19 hit, the restaurant had to change how they operated.
“We had to definitely ramp up our online presence, created our own online ordering platform, and rolled that out quicker than ideal, but it was something we had to do to stay relevant.”
The Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association said Royal Fork Buffet was a long-standing operation, and a staple in that area of the city.
Executive Director and CEO, Shaun Jeffrey said all restaurants in the province have suffered during the pandemic, but buffet-style restaurants were hit even harder.
“(Buffet’s) were closed for even longer,” said Jeffrey. “It’s very hard to run an operation when you don’t know what your future looks like, and with us still sitting in the middle of the pandemic, and still facing restrictions, it’s really hard to gauge what your business is going to look like.”
Jeffrey said many restaurants have pivoted to options like take out, take and bake, and delivery just to stay afloat during COVID restrictions.
He said restaurants in the province are facing multiple challenges right now including staffing shortages, supply chain management, and the rising cost of food.
Frenkow said she’s going to miss working at Royal Fork Buffet, the staff, and the customers.
“It‘s very sad because there’s about 30 employees that are out of a job.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.7147034.1734369907!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE UPDATES Trudeau considering his options as leader after Freeland quits cabinet, sources say
Chrystia Freeland, Canada's finance minister, said in an explosive letter published Monday morning that she will quit cabinet. Follow along for live updates.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quits cabinet hours before economic update
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced she's resigning from cabinet. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted to social media, Freeland said this decision came after Trudeau offered her another position.
Amid Freeland resignation, Department of Finance begins embargoed reading of fall economic statement
Amid the news Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has resigned from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, the Department of Finance has begun handing out embargoed copies of the long-anticipated fall economic statement.
W5 Investigates Connecting the dots on a landlord scam: how clues revealed a prolific con artist at work
In part one of a three-part investigation, W5 correspondent Jon Woodward reveals how a convicted con artist bilked dozens of people in a landlord scam.
Three dead, others injured in a shooting at a private Christian school in Wisconsin
A student opened fire at a school Monday morning in Wisconsin, killing two people in the final week before Christmas break. The shooter also died, police said.
Travel risk: Which countries does Canada recommend avoiding?
Canadians planning to travel abroad over the holidays should take precautionary steps to ensure they're not unintentionally putting themselves in harm's way.
Canada Post operations to resume on Tuesday, company says
Mail is set to begin moving again on Tuesday after a month-long strike by Canada Post employees comes to a close.
Jury delivers guilty verdicts for accused in Montreal-area triple homicide trial
The accused in a triple homicide trial south of Montreal has been found guilty.
Second person facing charges in fatal boat crash in eastern Ontario on Victoria Day weekend
A second person is facing charges in connection to a boat crash that killed three people on Bobs Lake in eastern Ontario over the Victoria Day Long Weekend.