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Golden Corral\u2019s president and CEO, Lance Trenary<\/a>, has been working at the buffet chain in some capacity for over four decades. The executive held positions<\/a> like senior vice president of company operations before becoming CEO in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trenary recently told Fox Business<\/a> that one \u201ccritically important\u201d habit was the foundation of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cStaying very close to the customer is really important,\u201d Trenary told the outlet. \u201cI like being out in our restaurants. I\u2019ve been with Golden Corral for 41 years, and I love traveling to restaurants. I know every franchisee, I know every manager in the stores, and I love visiting them.\u201d<\/p>\n Trenary said that listening to the customer is a habit he will \u201cnever break.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when you get the unfiltered truth about what\u2019s really going on \u2014 the way people really think about you and your brand,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Golden Corral is one of the country\u2019s largest buffet chains. The company says it has nearly 400<\/a> company-operated and franchised restaurants in 42 states and serves about three million guests in a typical week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Golden Corral is navigating a tumultuous 2026 because its all-you-can-eat model is vulnerable to rising costs and declining traffic. Trenary said the chain has faced mounting fuel, labor and food costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The pressure is especially acute for a buffet that offers unlimited steak and other higher-cost proteins while trying to keep prices relatively affordable. An adult dinner costs between $16.99 and $20.99<\/a> on weekdays.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re having a difficult year this year,\u201d Trenary told Fox Business. \u201cThis is the first year in several that we\u2019ve had some challenges, but at the end of the day, I don\u2019t get too nervous about it because I\u2019ve got such an incredible team.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the best measure of leadership is not personal achievement, but how many people a leader helps advance.<\/p>\n \u201cSuccess is not about something that I\u2019ve been able to achieve or something that is an accolade for me as a leader,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s more about the people that I work with and the opportunities that I can create for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Golden Corral began in 1973<\/a> as a modest steakhouse in North Carolina. The company later built its identity around the all-you-can-eat buffet, a model that made abundance, family dining and perceived value central to the brand. By the late 1990s, the buffet had become Golden Corral\u2019s defining format.<\/p>\n The pandemic revealed the vulnerability of that model. When indoor dining restrictions arrived in 2020, communal serving lines and crowded dining rooms became especially difficult to operate. Golden Corral\u2019s sales fell by more than half, and the company eventually lost at least 80 restaurants, per The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Since then, the chain\u2019s recovery has been substantial even as it remains under pressure. Golden Corral\u2019s busiest restaurants now generate about $7 million in annual sales, per the Journal<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe restaurant chain is navigating a difficult year<\/h2>\n
Golden Corral\u2019s history<\/h2>\n