The days of stacking your plate to the brim with chips, pasta salad and cheesy cauliflower - and later going back for seconds - could be over.
The COVID-19 virus has forced Wimmera restaurants and pubs to reevaluate their hygiene practices, and White Hart Hotel manager Bruce Hartigan said the salad bar was one of the first things removed.
"We were told to take them out and that we couldn't have one - and if I was a betting man, I'd say it won't make a comeback," Mr Hartigan said.
"It's a bit of a shame - a lot of our patrons will miss it. It's what they come in for.
"We used to have salads that people would specifically come in for. We produced an old apple and celery one that the oldies used to love.
"Now that's gone."
Mr Hartigan said the damage might also not be limited to the salad bar.
"Until we settle down as a society with a vaccine or something like that, we won't be having all those traditional sharing things. The smorgasbord, the carvery, or anything where people line up to eat," he said.
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Horsham Sports and Community Club manager Glenn Carroll said it was a disappointing but sensible decision.
"If you think about the amount of people that go through there and handle utensils, it makes sense," he said.
"It seems like a lot of that buffet-style of service will just go. Whether that's a breakfast buffet or salad bar, it sounds like that is going to go, and might not come back.
"Some people will be disappointed with that I know, however you have to keep people safe."
Mr Carroll said the Sports and Community Club had also pivoted to table service, rather than having customers come to the cashier to order food.
"That in itself has been a whole new experience for the staff, and something they had to be trained to do," he said.
"We're not sure what normal is going to be in the future - we just have to take it as it comes.
"Customers are enjoying it though, they are sitting there and getting served, which is new for us."
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Richard Crabtree
richard.crabtree@austcommunitymedia.com.au
richard.crabtree@austcommunitymedia.com.au
