Golden Corral CEO Credits Frequent Restaurant Visits With Keeping Him Grounded

Golden Corral’s longtime leader, now in his sixth year as CEO, says regular trips to dining rooms and conversations with franchisees and staff give him the clearest read on the company’s health.

Lance Trenary, who has held a variety of roles at the buffet chain for 41 years and became chief executive in 2015, tells reporters he still spends significant time inside restaurants. He says getting face-to-face feedback from operators, managers and guests is how he learns what’s working and what isn’t. “I make it a point to be where the customers and teams are,” he told Fox Business in a recent interview, adding that those visits yield straightforward assessments that an office won’t provide.

Golden Corral remains a major player in casual dining, operating almost 400 locations across 42 states and serving roughly 3 million people each week. The company’s busiest units now pull in about $7 million a year, and weekday adult dinners typically run in the high teens to low 20s in dollars. Those numbers help explain why the brand has stuck with an all-you-can-eat format that emphasizes value for families and groups.

But the buffet model is feeling pressure. Trenary acknowledged this has been a tough year, pointing to rising fuels, wages and ingredient prices that squeeze margins, especially when patrons expect endless portions of higher-cost proteins. He said he doesn’t panic because he trusts his leadership team and gauges his own performance by how many employees he can help promote, not by personal trophies. “My focus is on creating chances for people I work with,” he said, summing up a people-first view of senior management.

Industry observers say the CEO’s habit of staying close to restaurants helps with operations and morale, but it won’t erase structural challenges. “Regular site visits give you real-time intelligence and keep brand standards honest,” said Emily Harris, a restaurant analyst at MarketPlate Consulting. “Still, operators will need to adjust pricing, menu construction and service models to protect profits without alienating value-minded customers.” Golden Corral’s history underscores that need: founded as a steakhouse in 1973 and known for buffet dining by the 1990s, the chain saw sales plunge to less than half during the pandemic and lost roughly 80 units, according to reporting. The company has recovered ground since then, but balancing perceived value with rising costs will remain a central test.