In a Covid-19 world, what’s next for deluxe, all-you-can-eat buffets?

CNN — David Yeskel remembers the days of yore with packed shows and crowded casinos and, especially, all-you-can-eat buffets. Barbara Kraft/Wynn Las Vegas The same challenges cloud other tourist magnets where “all-you-can-eat buffet” is a byword for a luxe – or at least generous – experience. The idea, says restaurateur Elizabeth Blau, who helped create the buffets at the Bellagio, the Wynn and the Beau Rivage, was to “create something closer to a fine dining experience.” “When you go to great hotels of every caliber in Europe, there’s always a continental buffet breakfast, and it’s hugely prevalent in Asia as well,” says Blau, now the CEO of restaurant development company Blau + Associates. “But the Las Vegas casino buffet is uniquely American.” The Bellagio, for example, featured several action stations and a number of open kitchens preparing the food directly in front of the guest. Michel Verdure/Royal Caribbean On modern cruise ships – the kind that really got underway in the 1970s “Love Boat” era – the idea simply made sense, says Stewart Chiron, a travel-marketing expert known as “The Cruise Guy.” “It’s not a sales draw.