Troubled Golden Corral location closes 'until further notice'

Less than two months after Golden Corral opened in the Town of Poughkeepsie the location's doors are closed again, and the franchise operators have not commented on its future.

A sign taped to the restaurant's doors Tuesday read, "Sorry for any inconvince [sic] but we are closed until further notice."

It marked the second time the troubled location has closed since initially opening in late January.

RESTAURANT FIRE: Fire ravages Joseph's Steakhouse in Hyde Park, kills dog  

NEW DINING: Falafel Town brings a taste of Middle East to Poughkeepsie  

Sherrance Henderson, franchisee owner for the restaurant, did not respond to calls and texts from the Journal, and calls made to the Golden Corral's corporate headquarters were not returned.

While the reasons for the closing remain unclear, it was not ordered closed by the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health, according to Tanya Clark, director of Environmental Health Services with the department.

"To the best of our knowledge the closure of the establishment was not as a result of inspections by our office," Clark said.

Golden Corral faced a tumultuous opening marred by months of delays.

Originally scheduled to launch in September, several delays pushed the opening date back to Jan. 27. The location at 2345 South Road is the first Golden Corral to open in Dutchess County.

Issues with the building’s gas line, inspection schedules and supplies on back order all affected the opening date, Henderson said in January.

Yet after a week, Golden Corral temporarily closed to "get all the kinks out" before reopening on Feb. 14, Henderson said in a February interview.

The restaurant employed about 140 hourly workers and five managers, Henderson said in January.

This sudden closing drew a range of reactions from the community, with some indifferent to the news and others upset at the loss an area restaurant.

Jaime Delgado, of Wappingers Falls, said the chain location didn't live up to expectations.

"I wasn't impressed with the food (it) felt like a fast food buffet," Delgado said. "I gave the place a chance but will not be coming back. I do feel sorry for the employees."

While Poughkeepsie resident Ralph Gargiulo said he liked the restaurant, he noted that there were issues with service when he went.

"The food was great and the prices were reasonable," he said. "The only problem that I saw was that they couldn't control the amount of people that came and ate. They were either understaffed or just weren't ready to be that busy and or popular everyday of the week."

Charlotte Walsh, of Wappingers Falls, said she enjoyed her visit to Golden Corral and wished others had the chance to try it and form their own opinion.

"I was able to try it and had no problems, but others did," she said.

But Linda Devine, of Poughkeepsie, said the buzz around Golden Corral has been primarily negative.

"Word-of-mouth has not been good regarding the food or management,"

Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW