Customers at America's biggest buffet chain can pile their plates high with steak, shrimp and comfort food favorites, but behind the all-you-can-eat spread is a carefully calculated balancing act, according to a new report.Golden Corral has developed a sophisticated system to keep the buffet model viable despite challenging economic conditions, The Wall Street Journal recently reported.The chain, which has roughly 350 restaurants across the U.S., predominantly in the South and Southeast, offers about 150 different buffet items.What customers might not realize is that they are carefully arranged into "modules" that mix expensive and inexpensive foods, CEO Lance Trenary told the Journal.AMERICA'S FAVORITE FAST-FOOD CHAIN NAMED: MCDONALD'S WINS HEARTS BUT NOT BEST BURGER, SURVEY SAYSPricier items like meat and seafood are paired with lower-cost items like hush puppies and french fries.
Meatloaf goes side-by-side with potatoes, gravy and green beans, for example.Golden Corral offers roughly 150 items with its buffets, ranging from sirloin steak and shrimp to potatoes, rice and other sides.(Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)"We have to be pretty creative in the way that we present our menu," Trenary told the Journal.The chain also has to adapt to changes in the market.RED LOBSTER'S 37-YEAR-OLD CEO BETTING ON NOSTALGIA, AI TO FUEL CHAIN'S COMEBACK AFTER BANKRUPTCYAs beef prices have shot up, Golden Corral added a bone-in fried pork chop as a cheaper alternative to sirloin.
The pork chop costs the chain only about 40% of what the sirloin costs, so every customer who chooses pork instead of steak helps reduce Golden Corral's overall food costs.Quality also matters more at a buffet, where customers can simply discard a poorly prepared dish and return for something else.Keeping food fresh and minimizing waste are key parts of making Golden Corral's all-you-can-eat model work.(Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)Golden Corral tries to prevent tha...