Golden Corral Won't Be Stopped By Pritzker This Time Around

JOLIET, IL — The initial coronavirus crisis in Illinois caused Golden Corral to keep its Joliet restaurant on West Jefferson Street closed from mid-March through the end of June.

During the temporary closure, Golden Corral remodeled the indoor restaurant and got rid of its buffet, installing carpeting throughout the dining room, adding a large fireplace to create more ambiance.

Come Wednesday, Joliet's Golden Corral will not be shutdown again, its manager assured Patch despite the governor's order requiring all indoor restaurants and bars in Will and Kankakee Counties to temporarily to stop serving indoor guests because of a spike in coronavirus cases.

Manager Alina Bosze was confident that Golden Corral would have a large tent erected so it can adjust and offer outdoor dining to guests for the rest of this week and beyond.

Golden Corral will also be available for carryout orders, Bosze said.

She said Joliet's Golden Corral will stay open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with breakfast being available on the weekends from 8 to 11 a.m.

During the pandemic, Golden Corral is not staying open Mondays.

"We're not planning to change our hours," she told Joliet Patch. "We're going to have a lot of seating with a tent. We'll start with 60."

Still, this week's coronavirus news from the governor's office is not a net positive for Golden Corral or other nearby sit-down restaurants including the Al's Steakhouse, which is right across the street from Golden Corral.

The owners of Al's Steakhouse told Joliet Patch during a separate Tuesday afternoon interview that they have had zero coronavirus cases at their dine-in restaurant.

"I feel we've had some time to adapt and adjust," Al's Steakhouse co-owner Amanda Daskalkis told Joliet Patch. "You shouldn't just label everyone into one large group."

As for the national restaurant chain, Golden Corral had been rebounding nicely since it reopened July 1, its manager said. On Tuesday, Joliet Patch saw several customers inside the restaurants coming for dinner.

The Joliet restaurant manager emphasized that Golden Corral will continue to offer its weekend breakfast special for $7.99 on Saturday and Sunday mornings despite having the indoor dining area being off-limits to customers for at least these next couple of weeks.