It’s been 1,826 days since Gold Club in SoMa shut down its popular daytime buffet. Axel Sang, the strip club’s marketing director, has been keeping count. So when the decision to bring back the buffet became official, he was eager to share the news.
“We’ve been contemplating this for almost a year now,” said Sang. “But we finally made the decision to bring it back last week.”
Before the pandemic, the buffet was a staple among local workers, especially during the tech boom. “We would sell out probably within the first hour,” he added. “There’s several different office buildings that would come in and patronize the buffet.”
When work from home became the norm, Gold Club shut down its daytime shift, including the buffet. Sang said the club gets regular messages on social media about when it will be back. When he announced the buffet’s return Wednesday night on Instagram, he was flooded with messages from excited customers.
“That used to be the best lunch spot,” one said. “Yessssssss. Bout time!” another wrote. “Is this for real?” asked another.
The return of the buffet hits at an energetic moment for the city, when government workers and more and more tech employees have been called back into the office. Gold Club will open the buffet April 3 and 4 (just before the Giants’ home opener at Oracle Park), then every Thursday thereafter, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The best part? Gold Club is keeping the buffet free of charge, with a $5 entertainment fee, inflation be damned.
Once a month, the buffet will have a specialty item, but the staple dish is the renowned fried chicken. The menu, curated by executive chef Chris Hui, also includes classic sides, like fruit salad and grilled zucchini and mushroom.
“The wait is over,” said Craig Bordeau, Gold Club’s general manager. “After years of anticipation, your favorite daytime lunch buffet is back— bigger, better, and more delicious than ever.”
Before the pandemic, seats for the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord sold out in just 45 minutes. Sang hopes the return-to-office mandates for tech and government employees will bring back the hungry masses.
“It’s our little way of saying [to] local San Franciscans and office workers in San Francisco, ‘Hey, we feel like the city is back, and that’s why the buffet is back,’” said Sang.