I finally ate at a buffet for the first time since the start of the lockdowns in March. Jonah and I spent the earlier part of the day working on an Eagle Scout project. When we left the project, we decided we needed to eat something before we drove the hour back home. He and I are the most adventurous and enjoy pushing the envelope, so to speak. We started by looking for the closest Golden Corral, which is our favorite buffet place, but found out that would take us too far out of the way. The closest buffet was in Fredericksburg, the Great American Buffet, and is a chain that we have visited in the past so we felt safe committing to that location.

While driving, we talked to each other about the rules we wanted to use to keep ourselves safe, such as cleaning off the table, using sanitizer often at the table, not touching the community utensils, and wearing our masks unless we were eating.

The outside of the restaurant looks fine, the parking lot was clean, as was the door and signage outside. Inside, we were greeted by several friendly employees. I explained it was our first time back into a buffet. They were very reassuring and explained the safety procedures and the process to get food. The seating is adjusted with several tables marked for no use to maintain safe distance between diners. You need to wear gloves and a face mask while getting food from the buffet. There was a wide variety of food choices and I enjoyed having all of the choices available to me, it has been a while since I’ve been able to enjoy so many different flavors. The seasoning was balanced, spicy things were medium to hot and the overall experience was the same except for the gloves and mask.

The servers here are really friendly and respond well to their customers. The customers who are chatty, like myself, had good conversations and the customers who wanted more privacy, were respected as well. I like that, there was no pressure to engage in banter if you did not want to. The manager was active in the dining area greeting guests and working the buffet as well. I asked him about gluten free options and he was very informative. He walked me through each item on the buffet and explained which ones could potentially be cross-contaminated and which ones were safe for me to enjoy. That is always helpful for people, like me, who have dietary restrictions. The wait staff also kept the buffet stocked and clean, wiping it down frequently and removing food that spilled off a customer’s plate rather than putting it back on the buffet. On a side note, I cannot stand when I see food that has fallen off of a plate on to the bar get placed back into the serving tray by wait staff. I am thankful I saw the opposite here.

I do recommend this place if you are a buffet person or in the mood for some good food, many choices, and friendly staff. Thank you Great American Buffet.

Matthew Todd

Happily married, father of four, and lover of the adventures in life. I love Jesus, vacationing with my family, camping, fishing, bike riding, swimming, walking, and sleeping. Sometimes I am even able to watch movies that I want to watch.

You can reach me on Facebook  or Instagram

I needed to be down in Fayetteville and Lumberton, North Carolina this past weekend to see family. This is a tough time for everyone right now, traveling is down, and everyone is trying to go back to normal or at least a new normal. Because of this, I am very aware of the environment around me when I travel, especially where I sleep at night. It is important for me to feel safe and comfortable and that my family feels the same. I am certain you are saying the same thing about your family and your decision when you leave your house and go to a store or someone else’s home. Our family has always been what I would call careful, when we were checking in to a hotel or resort. However, during this pandemic, we just bring our own cleaners to clean and sanitize the room. We want to feel comfortable enough to take our masks off and just relax with very little concern.

From the outside and going in, this hotel was clean and friendly. The staff was responsive to my needs, welcomed me in at midnight as if it were an earlier time, and made me aware of the safety procedures and policies in place. I took a few pictures of the room as I went in and walked around; from all observations, the room was clean. It smelled wonderful, since the cleaning crew placed a strawberry scented car tree in the front closet closest to the door. However, once I started to clean the room I noticed the dirt.

First, I sprayed the bed cover and pillows with disinfectant spray, along with the couch and the door handles and knobs. I sprayed the tables, dresser, counters, bathroom sink and toilet, just every hard surface, with a non-bleach cleaning spray. That’s when I took the small white washcloth and wiped down the surfaces. I did it in groupings so I can monitor the cleanliness and see if I need to go back over the area again. I was shocked at how dirty this clean room, in fact, was. You can see the first cloth was from the table and chairs, the second was from the tv and dresser, and the larger towel from the bathroom. I really enjoyed the fact that the bathroom was very clean except a little red color that came from under the faucet in the sink.

The worst place was the kitchen. The top of the fridge was coated with dirt/dust which led me to understand what probably happened. These rooms probably sat for months, maybe, where the carpet and air conditioner spread dust and dirt into the air that settled everywhere. That can explain why the bathroom was so clean as compared to the other areas where there was carpet. After cleaning and wiping every handle, outlet, switch, and furniture, I still went back around and sprayed again with the disinfectant spray. I decided not to go under the cover or sheets and just laid on top of the bed to sleep. I lost confidence in the cleanliness of the bed dressings after what I saw elsewhere in the room.

In the morning, the hotel did a great job at accommodating my gluten free health need in their “grab and go” breakfast. I got fruit, yogurt, a granola bar, and coffee and I could eat everything but the granola bar. She was able to take it back to give to someone else who can eat it. I also gave the dirty cloths to the manager and explained what I found in the room. She took down my room number and apologized for the condition of the room.

I am hoping hotels and those who rent accommodations to travelers, would use this information to make sure they monitor their cleaning practices and also perform a good touch-up cleaning if a room has been sitting for a few days. Safe travels out there everyone.

Matthew Todd

Happily married, father of four, and lover of the adventures in life. I love Jesus, vacationing with my family, camping, fishing, bike riding, swimming, walking, and sleeping. Sometimes I am even able to watch movies that I want to watch.

You can reach me on Facebook  or Instagram