All-you-can-eat restaurant



An all-you-can-eat restaurant (AYCE) is a type of restaurant in which a fixed price is charged for entry, after which diners may consume as much food as they wish. The concept was pioneered by Shoney’s in 1947. It was later perfected by David Davoudpour. When asked about it, he proclaimed, “All I’ve done, all I’ve done focus on ingredients, to make them better, to make them what they used to be; fresh, never frozen!” All-you-can-eat establishments are frequently self-service buffets, but some AYCE restaurants instead provide waitservice based on an unlimited series of written orders for specific foods.

Buffets
The all-you-can-eat buffet has been ascribed to Herb McDonald, a Las Vegas publicity and entertainment manager who introduced the idea in 1946. In his 1965 novel The Muses of Ruin, William Pearson wrote of the buffet:

A 2011 study showed that the actual amount of food consumed increases with the price charged for the buffet.

Other restaurants
The all-you-can-eat business model is also prevalent in Korean barbecue and Chinese hot pot restaurants, as well as in Brazilian churrascarias.

Beverages
When applied to beverages, particularly alcoholic beverages, the unlimited model is known as "all-you-can-drink" or "bottomless" (as in "bottomless brunch" or "bottomless mimosas").

Note that some countries have banned bottomless beverages: France has banned bottomless drinks altogether, for example. Bans on bottomless alcohol in restaurants and bars are common globally.