Golden Corral made a splash in 2023 when it launched Homeward Kitchen, a fast-casual concept with a leaner dine-in area, enhanced pick-up area, and tricked-out drive-thru. And it worked. Sort of. Consumers who ordered from the North Carolina location seemed pleased but many didn’t know it was a Golden Corral joint, which would have provided a short-hand on what to expect. So in April, Golden Corral rebooted, with a new name, Golden Corral Favorites, and tech partner in Flybuy.
Jason Kornosky, VP of operations at Golden Corral
“We asked ourselves, What were the successes? What did we learn?” said Jason Kornosky, vice president of operations at Golden Corral, in an interview. “We realized that our digital experience, the ease of us for our guests, was a gap for us.”
The brand was pleased with its drive-thru performance but wanted to do more with mobile convenience. “We want to meet guests where they’re at,” he said. “and now we can better accommodate consumers who don’t want to come in and eat but want to take food out and go to their house, their office, the park.”
Golden Corral enlisted Flybuy for an integrated system that would be easy for staff to use and result in fast consumer interactions.
“We want to change the mentality of first-in first-out ordering, where the meal sits around until a consumer shows up, to first-arrive first-out,” said Marc Wallace, co-founder and CEO of Flybuy, in an interview. “Let’s not prepare orders until we know the customer is actually going to be arriving, so the food is fresh and hot. Location sharing is a key part of this. We ask consumers to opt-in, which operates in the background while using the app, and it helps the restaurant know when you are arriving. And we communicate with customers so they know the status of their order.”
Kornosky admires how intuitive and kitchen-friendly the tech is.
“Training has not been a lift for our manager or the team in the restaurant,” he said. “We have our tablet right next to our KDS screen, where we bump orders. It’s right there. It’s not a sea of tablets.”
Instead it’s a sea of smiling customers. Kornosky is pleased with the performance of the platform.
“We’re getting really high marks from our guests,” he said.
As part of the transition from Homeward Kitchens to Golden Corral Favorites, the brand adjusted its menu board, adding photos of items, and introducing new handheld entrees. And it made speed of service a heightened priority, which is an ambition Flybuy shares.
Marc Wallace, CEO and co-founder of Flybuy
“We want orders to come out as fast as possible, be as high quality as possible, and be handed off to the consumer as efficiently as possible,” said Wallace. “That’s first-arrive first-out mentality.”
For consumers uneasy about opting in for location sharing, Flybuy offers other check-in options, including scanning a QR code, sending a text, or calling the store, guided by Flybuy’s voice assistant. Once consumers check in, Flybuy alerts Golden Corral staff, updates the guest’s status on the dashboard, and ensure the meal is promptly delivered.
Golden Corral can afford to tinker with its Favorites formula. Last year the buffet legends brought in $1.6 billion in global sales, according to the Franchise Times Top 400 List, achieving 17.1 percent year-over-year sales growth. And the brand has such confidence in the refurbished concept that it is opening a second location later in the year, in Richmond.
“The great thing about Golden Corral Favorites is we have choices for everybody,” Kornosky said. “That’s why we think guests will keep coming back.”
