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
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.