Sandusky's Golden Corral remains closed

PERKINS TWP. — The sign on top of Sandusky's Golden Corral may say the restaurant is open, but it hasn't served customers since before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Restaurants have faced a tough year because of the virus, especially buffets like Golden Corral. Experts have said buffets are a breeding ground for the virus, leading the FDA to recommend the discontinuation of salad bars, buffets or self-serve stations. Golden Corral, which has about 500 locations across the country, changed its serving methods to cafeteria-style to make it safer and enable several of its restaurants to reopen. But it's months since Gov. Mike DeWine loosened the restrictions on indoor dining, the parking lot at the Milan Road (U.S. 250) Golden Corral remains empty. A spokesperson for the North Carolina-based restaurant chain told The Register in May the restaurant would reopen during the summer, but that never happened. Neither a corporate spokesperson nor the location's franchise returned messages about the restaurant's current status. Golden Corral's website, however, indicates the Sandusky restaurant's operations are temporarily suspended. It's one of the few locations in Ohio that has remained closed instead of switching to the company's new cafeteria-style serving. The Sandusky Golden Corral opened in April 2019 after completing extensive renovations to the former Ryan's Buffet building.