The buffet is a cornerstone of all that is good and pure in the world -- with seemingly unlimited options at your fingertips, you'll never leave a buffet hungry, and there is a little something for everyone to enjoy (especially those self-serve ice cream machines, amirite?).
This is probably why buffets tend to err on the more expensive side and some, although rarely, have time limits in place. However, for all-you-can-eat restaurant Jiamener in the southwest city of Chengdu, China, a lack of regulations forced them to close their doors for good.
It all started with a promotion -- for 120 yuan (around $19), customers could purchase a membership card which would entitle them to gorge themselves to their heart’s content for en entire month. That’s right -- unlimited food for a month.
Jiamener was a relatively new player in the restaurant biz. Having opened its doors in December 2017, the establishment wanted to find a way to lure more customers in. To put it lightly, the promotion worked. After they started advertising the deal on June 1 of this year, upwards of 500 customers visited each day, with people coming in at the start of the day and not leaving until midnight.
At its core, Jiamener is (was) a hot pot restaurant, serving simmering soup stock-full with meat, potatoes and a variety of vegetables. Ingredients are added to the soup while it’s over a burner, cooking the food right in front of you. A meal meant to be shared with friends and family, surely, but perhaps customers took this concept a bit too far.
Jiamener did not have any rules in place for the membership card. Members could pass their card along to family and friends, allowing multiple meals to be consumed on a single purchase. The business owners went bankrupt in just two weeks.
The promotion also wasn’t easy on staff. They reportedly slept only 2-3 hours per night throughout the craze, and worked up to 10 hours each day.
One of the owners explained their business decision: “We knew we would be losing money. We wanted to accumulate more loyal clients through this strategy.”
The local business also hoped to strengthen its relationship with other food and beverage companies. “For instance, if I had lots of customers and many of them have to drink beer, then I have to import lots of beer. By relying on a huge sum of money and bargaining with the [beer] merchants, I could lower the price of the imported goods.”
The owners ended up 500,000 yuan ($78,000) in debt.
The owners of this establishment might have empty pockets, but at least most of their patrons walked away with full bellies.