I used to eat at a Golden Corral when I was a kid.  It wasnt a buffet place
then though they had a pretty extensive salad bar with some soup choices.
Mostly I recall they did a decent simple steak for a quite reasonable price
that Mom could afford for all 4 of us.

Mom would take us out twice a year.  My sister's birthday (in early
December) and the sorta conjoined one of me, my brother, and Mother's day
which always hits within 4-6 days of each other.  We'd pick the center day
and do a sort of almost 'mini-Xmas' and call it Charlotte's day (for my
sister).  We'd bring a gift for each person with us and unwrap them there
after ordering and while waiting for our meals.  We'd get asked what was up
and explain it and they were always charmed and gave Mom the 'Mothersday'
meal deal (even if not there on that day) and all 3 of us kids the birthday
special (usually a free dessert).  We'd sing happy birthday to each other
than a variation called 'Happy Mom's day' to Mom.