The Now-Defunct Chain Restaurant That Was The First To Offer Cafeteria-Style Dining

There's something inviting and fun about cafeteria-style dining. Perhaps it's the vast array of food options or the fun of watching your tray pile high with foods of your choosing. Regardless of the reasoning, cafeteria-style dining has proven to be both enjoyable and profitable, from high school cafeteries all the way to the best buffets in Las Vegas.

What most people don't know is that this style of dining dates back quite a few decades in history. One of the first places to offer cafeteria-style dining, Morrison's Cafeteria, got its start back in 1920. The Southern chain remained popular up until the 1990s; eventually, the chain became defunct and joined the ranks of chain cafeteria and buffet restaurants we will never see again.

Just one Morrison's Cafeteria chain managed to survive and remains open to this day. Although Morrison's Cafeteria is now sadly no longer a chain, its mark on history is undeniable. Over a century later, cafeteria-style dining permeates throughout the American foodie lifestyle, starting with kids at a lunch cafeteria counter at school. Maybe Morrison's Cafeteria didn't stand the test of time, but the concept it helped introduce to the restaurant industry is certainly thriving.

Founded by J.A. Morrison, after which the chain was named, Morrison's Cafeteria originally opened in Mobile, Alabama, on September 4, 1920. Both the founder and the original restaurant set out to create an entirely new dining concept, which gave birth to modern cafeteria and buffet dining. The idea was to have homemade, already cooked food available for self-serve, all at a reasonable price.

The idea ultimately proved to be appealing and the restaurant grew from just one location to more than 150 restaurants. The biggest draw was Morrison's Cafeteria's extensive menu of over 100 items, including regional United States favorites, all of which were made daily.

Morrison's Cafeteria maintained this level of success up until the late 1980s, when customers' tastes and trends began to shift. Cafeteria-style dining was viewed as old fashioned as casual dining became more popular; although the company tried to shift to match the public's interest, eventually most of the locations were sold to longtime rival Piccadilly Inc. Now, there's only a single restaurant left still operating under the Morrison's Cafeteria moniker in Mobile, where the chain got its start.