‘Cursed’ Golden Corral on Route 9 to Become Brand New Restaurant

The Poughkeepsie Golden Corral is reopening yet again, but this time it'll be something a little different.

Many people believe the Golden Corral on Route 9 is cursed. And if you've been following the soap opera of the restaurant's long, troubled past, you may be inclined to think the same thing. When the restaurant originally debuted in early 2017 it was plagued with management issues. Customers complained of food that was sub-par and promised buffet items that just weren't available. Stories of an overdose in the restaurant bathroom and a dispute with workers over unpaid wages contributed to Golden Corral's eventual closure.

After the chain vowed to never open a restaurant on the property ever again, Dutchess County residents came to grips with the fact that they had seen the last of Golden Corral. But then, in the Fall of 2018 the company had a change of heart. The restaurant reopened its doors to the public under new ownership, with the promise that things would be run the right way.

That was right before the pandemic hit. Soon, the crowded buffet was forced to close with all of the other indoor restaurants in the Hudson Valley. Sadly, when it finally did reopen, Golden Corral found that it wasn't most diners' first choice to visit while Coronavirus was still a concern. The building officially went on sale in January and has sat vacant until this week.

Now there seems to be some life at the restaurant. Crews have been spotted remodeling and repainting the exterior.  The building's red and gold colors have been replaced with muted blues, grays and greens, and the Golden Corral sign out front appears to be in the process of being removed.

According to a sign out front, the restaurant is being transformed into the "International Buffet." The new business is hiring all positions, including managers, chefs, servers and kitchen staff.

It's unclear what the menu will look like or what the prices will be, but we can only assume that it will be similar to what was being offered at Golden Corral. If true, that would be great news for diners who were sad to see the restaurant chain close (and then close again... and again).

The new restaurant doesn't appear to be a chain. A business listing for Internation Buffet Inc. appears online with an incorporation date of September 8, 2021. No other information about the business was available, including a potential opening date. A search of social media accounts for the new restaurant's location also turned up nothing. For now, buffet lovers will need to remain in suspense while we wait for the new restaurant to open its doors.