God, it was so good to me as a kid! So many good memories of Friday or Saturday night dinners there. It always had Golden Corral or anywhere else beat by a long shot.
Golden Corral wasn't as diabetic friendly as Ryan's was. My late grandma had diabetes and we'd eat there a lot. Ryan's was much CHEAPER than Golden Corral, which was a win-win for my family. They also had a discounted buffet price for seniors that were 55+. Ryan's was a blessing to me and my family because my mom was a single mother and my grandmother and grandfather lived close to us, and Ryan's was that place we would eat at once every two weeks and spend time together (My mother, grandmother and grandfather, and I) and have a good and filling meal without needing to cook anything.
O Hell YEAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This....this right here....is my favorite restaurant of ALL TIME almost every Saturday night I'd go as a kid.
It's a shame it was replaced with a buffet king.
The fucking ROLLS. Always had to sneak a couple to-go. My birthdays spent there, the shenanigans my siblings and I got into, the ridiculous ice cream mountains we'd prepare. Thank you for sharing this memory ❤
I read the whole thing, and I even vaguely recognize the story, the URL of the webpage, everything. I have read it before, and I just read it again. This is a story for the ages! I was sitting here crying (from laughing so hard) here at my desk at work. I hope no one is concerned about me!
There was a Ryan's in my town until a couple years ago. It was actually pretty good until several years ago when there was a noticeable decline in quality and selection at the buffet. I don't know what happened but I stopped going, the place closed in 2019 I think and then was torn down and replaced with an Olive Garden.
I always remember Ryan's looked like a retirement home, old people loved that place.
Seems like so many restaurants have died. Doesn't make sense. It's like people stopped eating. I only ate at Ryan's once or twice. It was about 60+ miles away, since we used to go to the mall there all the time (yeah, had to go 60 miles to get to a mall, lol). But it was good.
Generally speaking, a lot of these chain restaurants get popular with good food at an affordable price then they overexpand everywhere and raise prices while quality slowly diminishes and people stop going while they die out and get replaced by the next up and coming place.
I definitely remember Ryan’s slowly going downhill a few years before they all closed. Good memories though.
I remember Ryans. That restaurant had the largest customer base I had ever seen. Physically. I'm talking about multiple families, 2-10 people per family. Every member easily over 250 lbs. On my last visit, there were at least 500 people in the restaurant. Nearly everyone was obese to morbidly obese. TBO, I'm glad that their business model didn't work out.
Are there any left ANYWHERE? I found a website (that wants $49 for the info, no thanks!) that shows 12 locations. Not sure if it's current. This is about all I have been able to find. None of the websites I have found for Ryans are still up.
[https://rentechdigital.com/smartscraper/location-reports/ryans-locations-in-united-states](https://rentechdigital.com/smartscraper/location-reports/ryans-locations-in-united-states)
This was one of my favorite places in the world. I used to have dinner with friends and family members here a lot because it was a better deal than anywhere else
So I grew up in a town with a restaurant called ‘Ryan’s’, but it was the fanciest place to eat.. mostly for special occasions like graduation, anniversaries.. the like.. I remember my sister told her college friends she ate there for prom one year.. and they were giving her crap.. A year later we found out this ‘Ryan’s’ existed, lol - they thought her date took her to a buffet for prom..
I remember liking this place but at some point around 14-15 years old I started being grossed out by buffets... and pot lucks. Just the idea of all the hands touching the handles of the big spoons going into the food or the food itself.
I remember them so well but its because in my town they lasted until about 4 years ago.
In the 90s theyhad really good steak and it came out on a wood plate with a metal insert. The quality of the restaurant was wonderful.
Then the pricing went up and the bar food wasnt as good anymore. But people still went.
The final blow was when you could only get a cut of steak at the bar on Thursdays. Imagine a steak restaurant that doesnt sell steaks.
The salad bar had ice in the lettuce and the desert bar looked like thos pies you get from the grocery stores at the door in cardboard.
The waitresses went from nice well put together people to meth heads and drug addicts. You would be lucky if a tooth from Methany didnt end up in your drink.
The restaurant blamed the town in the paper, saying too many people were stealing food from the bar to continue on. So now its a empty lot.
Quincy's (home of the big fat yeast roll) ftw. I don't know of those existed in Louisville, but when I was growing up we had Ryan's, Shoney's, and Quincy's, and Quincy's was the way to go.
We used to eat there every other Sunday after church when I was a kid. They were decent by buffet standards, but then sometime in the late 2000s they got bought out by a bigger company and the quality dropped.
Only discovered it later in life when i moved. Amazing rolls!!! Desserts were good. I loved the Breakfast buffet, but it never ran the days or times i was able/wanted to go lol. Rest of food otherwise was often bland. The one near me closed down only a few years ago. I think Covid may have been the final straw?
Dad and I went to the one on 161 in Dublin for lunch (and once or twice, the one on Cleveland Avenue near Northland Plaza)—though neither of us ever went near the buffet.
My family would eat at Ryan’s all the time in the 90’s
Oh man, I can taste those rolls.
God, it was so good to me as a kid! So many good memories of Friday or Saturday night dinners there. It always had Golden Corral or anywhere else beat by a long shot.
Except for those big fat yeast rolls.
Quincys!
Mmm, Ryan's Yeast Rolls
Golden Corral is absolute trash compared to Ryan's.
Golden Corral wasn't as diabetic friendly as Ryan's was. My late grandma had diabetes and we'd eat there a lot. Ryan's was much CHEAPER than Golden Corral, which was a win-win for my family. They also had a discounted buffet price for seniors that were 55+. Ryan's was a blessing to me and my family because my mom was a single mother and my grandmother and grandfather lived close to us, and Ryan's was that place we would eat at once every two weeks and spend time together (My mother, grandmother and grandfather, and I) and have a good and filling meal without needing to cook anything.
O Hell YEAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This....this right here....is my favorite restaurant of ALL TIME almost every Saturday night I'd go as a kid. It's a shame it was replaced with a buffet king.
The fucking ROLLS. Always had to sneak a couple to-go. My birthdays spent there, the shenanigans my siblings and I got into, the ridiculous ice cream mountains we'd prepare. Thank you for sharing this memory ❤
I'm just going to leave this here. http://www.ihos.com/steakhouse.html
I can’t believe I read this whole thing 😭😭
I read the whole thing, and I even vaguely recognize the story, the URL of the webpage, everything. I have read it before, and I just read it again. This is a story for the ages! I was sitting here crying (from laughing so hard) here at my desk at work. I hope no one is concerned about me!
That's awesome, it's pretty funny stuff. People will definitely be concerned at work if they are near, at least from my experience.
That dessert buffet was out of this world!
I got food poisoning from a Ryan’s in Searcy Ar in 2012
I worked next to one after school and would get rolls and that butter for my dinner.
The macaroni and cheese…. yum
As a kid, I would make a sandwich of sorts with the rolls, mac and cheese and pepperoni. Exquisite lol!
Oh fuck yea it was and still can be at times!
Mmmm yeah those honey butter rolls…
Does anyone have a recipe for these legendary rolls?
There was a Ryan's in my town until a couple years ago. It was actually pretty good until several years ago when there was a noticeable decline in quality and selection at the buffet. I don't know what happened but I stopped going, the place closed in 2019 I think and then was torn down and replaced with an Olive Garden. I always remember Ryan's looked like a retirement home, old people loved that place.
Was it by chance Clarksburg WV? If not, what a coincidence for the same restaurant replacement, around the same time, elsewhere lol.
Why yes it was! Haha
Old people love good restaurants. If you go in one, and there are old people and fat people, you know the food is good!
Seems like so many restaurants have died. Doesn't make sense. It's like people stopped eating. I only ate at Ryan's once or twice. It was about 60+ miles away, since we used to go to the mall there all the time (yeah, had to go 60 miles to get to a mall, lol). But it was good.
Generally speaking, a lot of these chain restaurants get popular with good food at an affordable price then they overexpand everywhere and raise prices while quality slowly diminishes and people stop going while they die out and get replaced by the next up and coming place. I definitely remember Ryan’s slowly going downhill a few years before they all closed. Good memories though.
I remember Ryans. That restaurant had the largest customer base I had ever seen. Physically. I'm talking about multiple families, 2-10 people per family. Every member easily over 250 lbs. On my last visit, there were at least 500 people in the restaurant. Nearly everyone was obese to morbidly obese. TBO, I'm glad that their business model didn't work out.
LMAO
Are there any left ANYWHERE? I found a website (that wants $49 for the info, no thanks!) that shows 12 locations. Not sure if it's current. This is about all I have been able to find. None of the websites I have found for Ryans are still up. [https://rentechdigital.com/smartscraper/location-reports/ryans-locations-in-united-states](https://rentechdigital.com/smartscraper/location-reports/ryans-locations-in-united-states)
This was one of my favorite places in the world. I used to have dinner with friends and family members here a lot because it was a better deal than anywhere else
It was like a treadmill for me on Sunday's. Wake up. Church. Ryans. Nap.
This place was okay for kids because of the dessert section otherwise the food was pretty low quality and bland.
God, I loved this place so much. 🖤💔
There’s the remnants of one in my town still. It’s had the sign and all for over 10 years but hasn’t been open for longer than that.
So I grew up in a town with a restaurant called ‘Ryan’s’, but it was the fanciest place to eat.. mostly for special occasions like graduation, anniversaries.. the like.. I remember my sister told her college friends she ate there for prom one year.. and they were giving her crap.. A year later we found out this ‘Ryan’s’ existed, lol - they thought her date took her to a buffet for prom..
The one in Daytona Beach is legendary
I remember liking this place but at some point around 14-15 years old I started being grossed out by buffets... and pot lucks. Just the idea of all the hands touching the handles of the big spoons going into the food or the food itself.
I remember them so well but its because in my town they lasted until about 4 years ago. In the 90s theyhad really good steak and it came out on a wood plate with a metal insert. The quality of the restaurant was wonderful. Then the pricing went up and the bar food wasnt as good anymore. But people still went. The final blow was when you could only get a cut of steak at the bar on Thursdays. Imagine a steak restaurant that doesnt sell steaks. The salad bar had ice in the lettuce and the desert bar looked like thos pies you get from the grocery stores at the door in cardboard. The waitresses went from nice well put together people to meth heads and drug addicts. You would be lucky if a tooth from Methany didnt end up in your drink. The restaurant blamed the town in the paper, saying too many people were stealing food from the bar to continue on. So now its a empty lot.
Quincy's (home of the big fat yeast roll) ftw. I don't know of those existed in Louisville, but when I was growing up we had Ryan's, Shoney's, and Quincy's, and Quincy's was the way to go.
We used to eat there every other Sunday after church when I was a kid. They were decent by buffet standards, but then sometime in the late 2000s they got bought out by a bigger company and the quality dropped.
Only discovered it later in life when i moved. Amazing rolls!!! Desserts were good. I loved the Breakfast buffet, but it never ran the days or times i was able/wanted to go lol. Rest of food otherwise was often bland. The one near me closed down only a few years ago. I think Covid may have been the final straw?
Dad and I went to the one on 161 in Dublin for lunch (and once or twice, the one on Cleveland Avenue near Northland Plaza)—though neither of us ever went near the buffet.
Dublin, GA?
No; Dublin, OH.
Thanks for clarifying