Many of the local employees were offered positions at Golden Corral restaurants in Asheboro, Concord
Golden Corral's 42-year presence in Lexington will end Oct. 31 when it closes its doors for good.
For employees like Tammie Sanders, who has worked at the chain restaurant for 42 years, it's a sad end to a long working relationship.
Golden Corral opened as a corporate location in Lexington in 1979 on Burler Street off West Center Street. It moved to its current location on Cotton Grove Road, opening on Oct. 31, 1998, as a franchise Golden Corral, owned by Billy Sewell of Jacksonville, N.C.
"I'm very saddened about it," Sanders said. "We have great customers who come in there just to see us. We're going to miss all the people. I've reached out to some of my long-time customers."
Like other restaurants across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, Golden Corral shut down its dine-in service in March, after Gov. Roy Cooper ordered the closing of all dine-in options at restaurants. The local restaurant then moved to a curb service meal pick-up option until April 3, when it stopped that foodservice option as well.
A few of the employees still worked daily to provide food for several Meals on Wheel contracts. Meals on Wheels is a national home-delivered meals service providing lunch to mainly senior citizens in their homes, which are delivered by volunteers.
"After more than 40 years of serving the local community, the Golden Corral location at 1507 Cotton Grove Road in Lexington, North Carolina, is closing permanently due to the business impact of COVID-19," said Sewell, president of Platinum Corral, a franchisee of Golden Corral. These decisions were weighed heavily, and we hope there will be an opportunity to serve this community in the future. Our managers and staff were personally notified, and we offered many of them positions at our Golden Corral restaurant locations in Asheboro and Concord, North Carolina. We sincerely appreciate the hard work, dedication and hospitality shown by our employees, and are grateful for the community support and patronage over the years.”
Lexington's Golden Corral employed approximately 48 full-time and part-time employees prior to the March shut down. The large Golden Corral sign on Cotton Grove Road and the signage that was affixed to the building has been taken down.
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"I've done every job at the restaurant," said Sanders, who began working at the Golden Corral when she was 16. She needed money to help with expenses to finish high school after her father was diagnosed with cancer and could no longer work. Her mother stayed at home to care for her father.
Sanders, who said she learned of the closing about two weeks ago from her manager, already has a new job at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where she is training to work for patient services.
Candice Brooke Young, who was a waitress and Fast Track coordinator for 14 years, said she had hoped the local Golden Corral would be able to rebound and open again. She is not sure what is next for her in regards to employment.
"We kept being told by the owner that we would be coming back and reopening," Young said. "I heard from a co-worker that we were going to close for good on Oct. 31. We're devastated. That was home to be for 14 years."
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"This just breaks my heart," Sanders added.
In a written statement, Sewell said that the Meals on Wheels operations were immediately transferred to the Golden Corral location in Asheboro, and service is continuing uninterrupted to package and deliver meals to children and seniors in the surrounding communities.
"The Asheboro location has safely reopened for dine-in, curbside and delivery service for guests," he said. "It has a larger footprint and higher volume kitchen to help our staff more effectively manage the Meals on Wheels program with a seamless transition."
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