‘Cursed’ Hudson Valley Restaurant Closes For 4th Time in 8 Years

One of the unluckiest restaurant buildings in the Hudson Valley has claimed another victim.

If you believe in curses, there's a restaurant on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie that you're going to want to steer clear of. Locals have watched one restaurant after another try to survive inside the same set of walls, only to meet the same fate.

The story goes back to early 2017 when Golden Corral first arrived in Dutchess County. The highly anticipated launch was met with lots of fanfare and crowds of customers, but things went south quickly. Diners complained about food that was not quite what was advertised and buffet stations that rarely matched the photos on the wall. Reports of an overdose in the bathroom and a fight with workers over unpaid wages only added to the drama. By the time Golden Corral closed, even the company said it would never come back to the property.

Residents accepted that the experiment was over. Then the fall of 2018 rolled in, and so did a surprise. Golden Corral reopened under new ownership with the promise that this time would be different.

Months later, the pandemic arrived. Packed buffet lines disappeared overnight. When indoor dining eventually returned, standing shoulder to shoulder with crowds of people pawing through chafing dishes was not exactly the first choice for most Hudson Valley families. The property went up for sale in early 2021 and later reopened as the International Buffet.

Within a year, the International Buffet eventually shut down too and was quickly replaced by King Buffet, promising new seafood options like crab legs and sushi as well as other Chinese and Japanese dishes. And if you're starting to detect a pattern here, you're right. Recently, the doors to King Buffet have closed and the building appears to be vacant with a "For Lease" sign once again posted out front.

It's unclear if anyone has shown interest in taking over the property. For now, we'll have to wait to see if anyone will be brave enough to reopen another buffet at what some believe is the Hudson Valley's most cursed restaurant.