Famous Food

America's biggest buffet chains are trying to reinvent the wheel in the face of the raging pandemic ... searching for new ways to feed folks while keeping everyone safe.

Five of the largest buffet restaurant chains in the country tell TMZ they're changing with the times and rolling out new features to bring in patrons.

Golden Corral says it's serving guests cafeteria-style, with cooks loading up customers' plates with as much grub as they desire. The new service model eliminates the need for guests to touch utensils.

A rep tells us GC is also serving "family-style" meals, where large platters of food are delivered to guests sitting at their table ... a stark contrast from the golden age of Golden Corral.

The buffet chain, which says it's slowly reopening restaurants on a case-by-case basis to comply with various state and local guidelines, is also implementing new social distancing measures -- including floor markers, table spacing, and drink delivery to tables.

Golden Corral also says it's continuing to wipe down all guest touchpoint areas every half hour, check employees' temperatures, and install new hand sanitizer stations.

The GC in Abilene, Texas is already open for biz under the new look ... and an employee at the restaurant tells us the new initiatives make them feel safer at work.

The ever-familiar HomeTown, Old Country, Country and Ryan's Buffet chains are also changing the way they do business so they don't end up like Souplantation, which closed for good due to COVID-19.

Jason Kemp, cofounder of Food Partners, which owns and operates all 4 buffet chains, tells TMZ ... honchos are busy working on a new concept that will revolutionize the buffet industry.

Michael Rubin is applauding Chris Pratt and David Blaine for going above and beyond with the All In Challenge, and says it's beautiful to see celebs commit their time to the cause.

The Philadelphia 76ers partner, and creator of the Challenge, joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and couldn't stop gushing about the efforts of Chris, David and a host of others raising money to feed Americans in the pandemic.

Michael says David's a shining example ... the illusionist held an auction and offered to fly to the winner's home for a private magic show, and the winning bid came in at $220,000. But, David didn't stop with one show, he did it three times over -- getting the runner-up and second runner-up to match -- and raised $660k for food charities.

Chris caught the All In bug too ... offering the chance to get eaten by a dinosaur in the 'Jurassic Park' franchise, first as an auction and then again as a sweepstake you can enter for just $10.

Michael says golf icons Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson also double-dipped with auctions and sweepstakes, with Tiger offering a trip to the Bahamas and putting lessons, and Phil offering the chance at a round with a Masters champion.

The broken meat supply chain has most Americans worried, but not hunters who are loading their freezers with game -- and it seems a lot more people want to do the same.

We did some digging, and in the past couple months, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic ... several Midwestern and East Coast states, where hunting is common, have seen a major increase in demand for licenses to bag open-range game, fish and fowl.

In Michigan, for example, turkey season kicked off with a bang on April 18 ... and the state’s Department of Natural Resources already sold 97,305 licenses to hunt the bird, far eclipsing the 83,072 number this time last year.

New York, which tragically had the biggest surge of coronavirus cases early on, also saw a surge of its residents going fishing and hunting. Between March and May, the number of licensed anglers grew 30 percent and turkey permit sales spiked about 60 percent.

Similar story in Virginia, where so far this year ... sales of hunting licenses have risen nearly 10 percent and its turkey harvest has perked up by 11 percent.

A couple of heartland states -- Indiana and Iowa -- have also experienced big spikes in hunting and fishing licenses, but officials there don't chalk that up to a potential meat shortage. Instead, they think it's because people have more free time to enjoy the sport of hunting along with the reward of food.

Of course, for those out there who aren't into the whole hunting thing ... there's always plant-based meats. As we told you ... that business is booming too.

Guy Fieri knows better than anyone that restaurant workers are the lifeblood of that industry, so he immediately sprung into action to help those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The official Mayor of Flavortown joined "TMZ Live" Thursday and explain how he quickly managed to get $20 million into a relief fund. Guy says he partnered up with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation ... and they launched the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.

Pretty incredible what he's done in less than 2 months. As Guy told us, he had no problem getting on the phone to some major corporations involved in hospitality and food services.

He says they've already awarded more than 40,000 grants -- worth $500 each -- to workers facing extraordinary hardship due to the pandemic. Anyone who wants to donate to the cause or apply for a one-time grant can go here.

We also asked Guy how the industry can survive under our "new normal" of social distancing. He said it's gonna be tough, but it can be done ... for a certain type of restaurant.

2 Chainz couldn't hold off any longer, he's reopened his Atlanta restaurants for dine-in service ... and while he's trying to keep patrons safe, most don't seem too concerned.

After waffling the past 2 weeks, both of the rapper's Escobar Restaurant and Tapas locations fully opened back up Tuesday ... and 2 Chainz dropped by to make sure everything was running smoothly.

Bentley Didier, a spokesperson for Escobar, tells TMZ they're operating under new guidelines to protect against COVID-19, which is great ... since people are flocking to the joint. He says employees, friends and customers admit they've been dealing with depression due to self-quarantining and social distancing.

Point is, most people are just thrilled to be back. Even if customers aren't worried, we're told both spots will practice social distancing, work within the regulations in place ... and listen to guidance from health officials and the government.

Didier says some new safety precautions include sections being limited to 4 people or less, ALL food served in a to-go box, masks and gloves provided if requested, and customers being instructed to wash their hands in the restrooms as soon as they enter.

People ordering hookahs will be provided with disposable hoses, and the hookahs are sanitized after every use.

In addition, each location has a back patio open so people can spread out, and staff is still limited to keep capacity as low as possible for now. DJs haven't returned yet either -- they're just utilizing playlists -- and dancing is limited to a party's section with the people they came with.

After the reopening, Escobar posted some video of folks dancing inside -- hard to say if the rules are being followed.

T.I. and Killer Mike are looking out for their neediest neighbors ... helping them fill their bellies and wallets all while practicing CDC-approved hygiene.

The Atlanta rappers teamed up Wednesday to serve hot meals to 500 ATL residents who've been feeling the impact brought on by the pandemic and quarantine.

T.I. and Killer Mike partnered with PAWkids, a family enrichment center run by Latonya Gates, to bring smiles to the good folks in Atlanta's Grove Park community, serving food from the parking lot at Bankhead Seafood.

The Grammy Award-winning MCs kept up their good deeds after serving the 500 meals, dropping off 2 weeks' worth of food and hygiene products to needy families, and surprising folks as they opened their front doors.

They also topped it off by doling out $500 cash to several of those households.

We know Pauly D is a hot draw in the DJ booth, but we didn't know he was THIS hot -- as in, someone throwing down six-figures to watch him in action!!!

The 'Jersey Shore' stud is super pumped up about raising $200,500 for the All In Challenge -- raising money for food charities -- and he came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to explain why it could be a great deal for the winner.

Pauly's gonna teach the high bidder how to mix it up on the 1s and 2s, plus take them and a few friends for a night on the town. Even he admits, he didn't know what he could offer for the All In Challenge, at first -- considering Meek Mill donated a freakin' Rolls-Royce!!!

But, the highly in-demand DJ told us the winner's not just getting a party experience for that $200k. Yes, there will be bottle service, custom jerseys and wild parties, but more importantly ... the DJ lessons he's giving could mean a new high-paying career for the winner.

Speaking of the Sin City party scene -- Pauly says he's got his ear to the streets in Vegas, hoping for a shred of good news about the future reopening. He also admits it's really hard to keep social distance in his biz.

While the pandemic's hitting lots of people where it hurts -- Pauly says he's already canceled 30 shows -- celebs are making a difference with the All In Challenge.

The brainchild of 76ers partner Michael Rubin has raised $32 million and counting. A chunk of that is thanks to David Blaine. The famed magician's fan experience -- flying to your home for a private show -- went for $220,000, but it was a 3-way tie. Blaine decided to go to all 3 winners' homes, so that's $660k for charity!!!

As for Pauly ... yes, the tuition at Pauly D U. is expensive, but it's for a great cause.

Hungry consumers are looking elsewhere for a juicy bite as America starts to feel the crunch from meat shortages ... and it's a boon for plant-based meats.

Here's the deal ... with traditional meat processing plants and slaughterhouses getting hit hard by COVID-19, there's a looming shortage of traditional meats and poultry. Based on the numbers, more and more people are taking the opportunity to try new, healthier options.

Two of the country's biggest plant-based meat producers, Tofurky and Impossible Foods, both tell TMZ ... sales are up and they've already found ways to cut into the conventional meat industry's marketplace.

Tofurky CEO Jaime Athos tells us his company is selling more inventory to stores than ever before. It's a pretty stark change ... Tofurky says one of its retail partners fears conventional meat sales will nosedive 30 percent.

Tofurky is upping its supply to fill the void.

In response, Tofurky's upping its supply to fill the void, and capitalize on the Wendy's burger shortage ... it's about to roll out a new line of plant-based burgers.

Over at Impossible Foods, President Dennis Woodside says they had record retail sales in April and struck new deals with major grocery chains like Kroger. Impossible already jumped into the fast-food game by partnering with Burger King -- pre-pandemic -- and Woodside says those sales remain strong.

Beyond Meat is making a killing too ... with a whopping 141% increase in first-quarter net revenues, compared to last year.

Plant-based beef ... it's what's for dinner in 2020.