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The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

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Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#151

Post by ant6n »

nocubicles wrote: post #66
Jommi wrote: post #56

I'm still at awe of the Sushi Buffet thing that you can see all around in Helsinki, Finland. So far I have not seen anything like it, anywhere else in the world. Usually the price you pay is 10€ for an unrestricted and no time limit access to eating sushi. And the sushi is incredibly okay! It's nothing compared to stuff you find Tokyo ofcourse, but the price for quality is literally unbeatable. And all this is happen…

Been wondering the same of how its possible. Wish they could also do it across the bay in Tallinn.

Just take the subway across the bay in 2040.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#152

Post by seanmcdirmid »

devchix wrote: post #74
glangdale wrote: post #23

I've seen a number of instances where "all-you-can-eat" rapidly devolves into "all-you-can-find" - where expensive items simply don't get refilled until the big eaters go away. We went to a Churrasco place one time with my startup team and the staff more or less spent half the allotted time essentially hiding from us. It was comical, but expensive. The other aspect of buffets is that frequently the food is quite drea…

The "better" all-you-can-eats are priced accordingly. The Bellagio in Las Vegas had a seafood thing that cost north of $40, if I remember correctly. The crab legs get constantly refilled, they also had giant prawns. This was years ago so it may not exist any longer. Founding Farmers in DC has a brunch thing, also expensive, but the lox tray is never empty. The surprise in the bill is the cost of drinks, espressos and…

Brazilian steak houses are often buffets as well.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#153

Post by ckdarby »

ValentineC wrote: post #127

I organise some tech conferences. We tend to hold our speakers dinner at an upmarket all-you-can-eat buffet, mainly because we have a mix of adventurous and not-so-adventurous eaters. We try to let our speakers and guests have an opportunity to try our local cuisine, but I'm starting to think that buffets aren't that great for doing so. Travellers new to a country/region wouldn't know what to take, unless there's a l…

Really? I figure most people just take a little bit of everything the first round to figure out what they liked and then come back for more.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#154

Post by yibg »

mxcrossb wrote: post #64
katzgrau wrote: post #16

The only thing I found more interesting than all-you-can-eat buffets actually turning a profit is that there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins. This article quotes a 5% margin. I know food industry margins are low in the first place, but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. The same business prowess and attenti…

I think the average margin might be misleading. After all, most restaurants fail pretty quickly. That number could be skewed by the unsuccessful businesses. But I think it’s an interesting point. Why fight all day long for a 5% margin when you could put your money in index funds?

The two are orthogonal. The 5% here is on revenue. This would be like your salary. You can of course invest your savings in an index fund but you still want a salary to get more money into your investments.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#155

Post by yibg »

katzgrau wrote: post #16

The only thing I found more interesting than all-you-can-eat buffets actually turning a profit is that there are business people who are apparently content running a business with such slim margins. This article quotes a 5% margin. I know food industry margins are low in the first place, but as a business owner in a different field I'm left wondering why anyone would even bother. The same business prowess and attenti…

Depends on 5% of what. I’d be perfectly happy making 5% margin on say 10 million annual revenue.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#156

Post by emiliobumachar »

virtuallynathan wrote: post #92
jasoneckert wrote: post #68

I stopped going to all-you-can-eat buffets years ago for the simple reason that you don't stop eating when you're full - you stop eating when you hate yourself. If the number of all-you-can-eat buffets drops, it's likely because society is starting to advocate healthier lifestyles in my opinion.

I’ve started going more, but mostly to Brazilian steakhouses. You will stop eating steak exactly when you are satiated. I actually lose weight if I go a few days in a row.

Brazilian here. I overeat at steakhouses just like anywhere else, and never heard the distinction before. Maybe it's just you?

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#157

Post by ghaff »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #152
devchix wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "better" all-you-can-eats are priced accordingly. The Bellagio in Las Vegas had a seafood thing that cost north of $40, if I remember correctly. The crab legs get constantly refilled, they also had giant prawns. This was years ago so it may not exist any longer. Founding Farmers in DC has a brunch thing, also expensive, but the lox tray is never empty. The surprise in the bill is the cost of drinks, espressos and…

Brazilian steak houses are often buffets as well.

They often are because they want you to fill up on salad and so forth rather than just eat meat. (And, if they don't have a buffet, they bring plenty of that sort of thing around the table.)

I sorta like Brazilian steakhouses but I certainly don't get my money's worth because I don't have the appetite I used to have.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#158

Post by TimTheTinker »

BurningFrog wrote: post #150
derefr wrote: post #114

One nice thing about buffets—all-you-can-eat or not—is that, if you want, you can eat small portions of a wide variety of things, rather than large portions of a small number of dishes. The economics of a buffet are the only reason this is really possible; it’s not like you could place an order for e.g. “five breaded shrimp, three grams of braised pork, two wontons’ worth of wonton soup, ...” from a Chinese restauran…

The other nice thing is if you're on some unconventional diet (keto, vegan, kosher, etc), you can pick whatever fits your belief system that day.

This. I grew up as a Seventh-day Adventist, and buffets were a frequent dining choice for my family— only because it was possible to have a good lunch without any meat, and with as much dessert as one wanted.

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#159

Post by ip26 »

lalaland1125 wrote: post #26
jubjubbird wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For context: https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/?s=brian+wansink (he's a Cornell prof with dubious research/PR tactics)

A quote from the Brian himself illustrating how he is able to "publish" so much junk research. > P-hacking shouldn’t be confused with deep data dives – with figuring out why our results don’t look as perfect as we want. With field studies, hypotheses usually don’t “come out” on the first data run. But instead of dropping the study, a person contributes more to science by figuring out when the hypo worked and when it…

Really? Suppose you just ran a twenty year, many million dollar field study, the hypothesis was not confirmed, you just throw everything out & that's that?

Re: The economics of all-you-can-eat buffets

#160

Post by devchix »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #152
devchix wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "better" all-you-can-eats are priced accordingly. The Bellagio in Las Vegas had a seafood thing that cost north of $40, if I remember correctly. The crab legs get constantly refilled, they also had giant prawns. This was years ago so it may not exist any longer. Founding Farmers in DC has a brunch thing, also expensive, but the lox tray is never empty. The surprise in the bill is the cost of drinks, espressos and…

Brazilian steak houses are often buffets as well.

I'm not a huge carnivore so those guys will never get my money, heh. SO MUCH MEAT!! All in one meal! Today I split a 6 oz. steak with another person and it felt like a lot of meat.

This thread! All-you-can-eat as a hedging strategy is a bit unnerving, it's like a bet for my vice, that I'll come out ahead. Something like The Purge, all the crimes you can commit in 24hrs.

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