There was a brief moment in fast food history when “all-you-can-eat” didn’t just mean a buffet at Golden Corral. It meant Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Wendy’s—even Popeyes—offering bottomless meals in a world without calorie counts or sneeze-guard anxiety. Most of them disappeared so quietly, people now wonder if they ever existed at all.

KFC Buffet

Yes, the KFC buffet was real—and not just in Japan. From the ’80s through the early 2000s, American locations offered bottomless fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and even dessert. A few still survive in places like North Platte, Nebraska, and rural Canada. But most vanished with the pandemic and never came back.

Wendy’s Superbar

The Superbar was Wendy’s weirdest—and arguably best—idea: a buffet inside a burger chain, with three distinct sections. There was a salad bar, a pasta bar, and a taco bar, all for under $4. It ran from the mid-’80s until 1998, when cost, mess, and logistics finally did it in.

Taco Bell Buffet

Hard to prove, but too many people remember it for it to be myth. Some Taco Bells had a DIY taco bar with tortillas, beans, beef, and toppings in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Others, like the Johns Hopkins dorm location, offered unlimited made-to-order tacos through meal plans.

Pizza Hut Buffet

Not a myth—just mostly gone. At its peak in the early ’90s, over 2,000 Pizza Huts had all-you-can-eat buffets with pizza, pasta, salad, and those gooey dessert pizzas. You could fill your red cup with Pepsi and go back for a third slice. Only a few still exist overseas.

McDonald’s Breakfast Buffet

No photos. No official records. But Reddit swears it existed: scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, and pancakes laid out buffet-style in select McDonald’s locations in the early ’90s. Some say it cost $10 for a family of four. Others remember the grits. Most just remember thinking it was a dream.

Popeyes Buffet

Once a real thing in Louisiana and a few Southern cities, the Popeyes buffet offered unlimited spicy fried chicken, biscuits, mac and cheese, and even spaghetti. The Lafayette location was the last one standing—until the pandemic hit in 2021 and ended it. Even Anthony Bourdain reportedly stopped by once.

Rax Roast Beef

If you blinked in the ‘80s, you might’ve missed Rax morphing from Arby’s clone to all-you-can-eat fever dream. Their buffet included salad bars, taco fixings, and even fettuccine Alfredo. But the chain overextended fast, got weird with “Rax the Talking Tree,” and collapsed by the late ‘90s. A few locations still exist—without buffets.

Wendy’s Salad and Potato Bar

Before the Superbar, Wendy’s had a simpler offering: a salad bar with baked potatoes and all the fixings. Some added chili, cheese sauce, or taco toppings. It was cheap, easy, and surprisingly filling. It quietly disappeared by the mid-2000s, but for many, it defined “fast casual” before the term existed.

Pizza Inn

Pizza Inn still exists—just not the way you remember. The buffet-style Southern chain once had 150+ locations with pizza, salad, and dessert stations. Now it’s down to around 140, mostly in small towns. The buffet is still around at some, but its footprint has shrunk dramatically since 2019.

Gatti’s Pizza

Another Southern staple with a built-in arcade and unlimited slices. Gatti’s was a family favorite throughout the ’80s and ’90s, peaking just before its parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Many locations closed overnight. The buffet still exists in a few places—but it’s no longer the default experience.

Cicis

Cicis was the buffet king of the 2000s—cheap, loud, and absolutely everywhere. With more than 600 locations in its heyday, it served endless pizza, salad, and cinnamon rolls for under $6. But the pandemic hit hard. By 2021, Cicis filed for bankruptcy, and now fewer than 270 remain.

Rita Wilson