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Yesterday I ate at a Morrison's Cafeteria (now owned by Piccadilly) and it was the first time I had been in one since I was a kid. I didn't even know the place was still there until I saw it online. The food was really good homestyle cooking, which is perfect for people like me who don't want to cook a whole spread while home alone, plus I like being able to see what I'm getting before paying for it. Surely it's more healthy than fast food since there's a variety of veggies available, and it also seems like cafeterias don't have the risks of contaminated utensils like buffets. So why does it seem like these places have almost disappeared since the 1980's? Is there a general dislike for them?
Yesterday I ate at a Morrison's Cafeteria (now owned by Piccadilly) and it was the first time I had been in one since I was a kid. I didn't even know the place was still there until I saw it online. The food was really good homestyle cooking, which is perfect for people like me who don't want to cook a whole spread while home alone, plus I like being able to see what I'm getting before paying for it. Surely it's more healthy than fast food since there's a variety of veggies available, and it also seems like cafeterias don't have the risks of contaminated utensils like buffets. So why does it seem like these places have almost disappeared since the 1980's? Is there a general dislike for them?
Cafeteria?
Sounds like something in an institution.
isn't a cafeteria restaurant completely different than a buffet when it comes to pricing?
buffet= pay one price, take anything you want
cafeteria= you pay a price for each item you select.
Last time I was at a cafeteria restaurant it was in Minneapolis (Hennepin County Hospital)
Price was reasonable an d food was good.
Yeah at Morrison's you pay per item. The "main dishes" were around $7 and then the sides and breads were much cheaper. It's all totaled up on your ticket and then you pay on your way out.
I love the K&W Cafeteria at Cameron Village in Raleigh, NC. The food there is very good and they are always busy unlike some other cafeterias. I went to a Piccadilly in St Louis a few months ago and thought the food was kind of generic (instant potatoes).
I went to a cafeteria on the first trip south my wife and I took.
We stopped at a cafeteria in Alexander City Alabama.
I said "yes" to most of the things and then said......."and I'll have some mashed potatoes"
The older black lady serving up the food nearly died laughing and kept saying.........." mashed potatoes?"........."mashed potatoes ?"
Turned out it was grits.
I tried them and HATE grits.
By the time you get your high school diploma, you probably think of "cafeteria" as an evil that you now can avoid. I agree that a different name would be good, like "full service buffet", as mainebrokerman suggested.
It's mostly economics why you don't see many anymore. A lot of labor costs with all those line servers and DR bussers, hard costs of china and cutlery (that gets broken & stolen) as well as a lot of square footage in rent costs for the dining room. Plus, American palates are getting more sophisticated and aren't as interested in steam table food that's cooked hours before service. And then there's competition from places like Boston Market, Chipotle, etc., with a smaller menu where the customer still picks their preferences.
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