Old Country Buffet Michigan Memories

There is still an Old Country Buffet-sized hole in my heart, although that may also be an artery clogged by years of enjoying unlimited mashed potatoes.

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The chain once had Michigan locations in Lansing, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Canton, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo. By 2018, Michigan's final Old Country Buffet had closed, taking with it our freedom to stack fried chicken, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, and one decorative broccoli floret onto the same plate.

Remembering the Old Country Buffet Experience

variety of foods — Photo by Benjamin Ashton on Unsplash

Was the buffet sanitary? Well, no, but there was a sneeze guard. That thin sheet of plastic gave us the feeling that it could stop every germ from breaching the mashed potato perimeter. Of course, it did nothing to protect you from the filthy hands of unsupervised children who pawed through the dinner rolls with fingers that looked like they’d never seen a squirt of Dial.

Still, I accepted this risk. The mountainous plate I created made peace with whatever bacteria Tyler from table 14 deposited near the hot fudge brownie. While Michigan still has buffets, it's not the classic American, all-you-can-eat comfort-food version we all came to know and love.

Where Mid-Michigan Can Still Find a Buffet

a buffet line with a variety of appetizers — Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As a substitute, Lansing's Hibachi Grill & Sushi Buffet offers more than 250 items. Jackson has New Country China Buffet, complete with unlimited Chinese favorites... but good luck finding mashed potatoes at either.

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They are not Old Country Buffet, but they still let me build a plate with no theme, nutritional strategy, or structural engineering permit. That is the American dream.

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Source: Old Country Buffet Left a Mashed-Potato-Sized Hole in Michigan’s Heart

Filed Under: closing, michigan restaurants