It is a privately held company headquartered in the U.S. city of Raleigh, North Carolina, with locations in 43 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.

[2] In 1971, James Maynard and William F. Carl conceived the idea that became Golden Corral after several unsuccessful attempts to acquire a franchise with other companies.

Because of poor training, nationwide concerns about the consumption of red meat, and a shift in market shares to upscale restaurants, sales were falling.

The location of these new restaurants, the majority of which were in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and North Carolina, was also a change for the company, moving away from small towns and into metropolitan areas.

[citation needed] The company updated their restaurants to a concept, called "Strata", during the mid-2000s in an effort to bring more of the food preparation into view of the guests.

In all locations, guests serve themselves, including requesting made-to-order items such as Belgian waffles, omelets and char-broiled steaks.

These locations were created in the hopes of offering a more contemporary appearance for the interior and exterior of the building, with different layouts for the dining room, adding new food service bars and kitchen areas.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the chain had to temporarily close down most of its locations just like other restaurants in response to the directives for the prevention of COVID-19 that spread across the globe.

28 Yates Racing Ford of Travis Kvapil during select NASCAR Cup Series events in the 2009 season.

If a Golden Corral-sponsored driver finishes in the top ten, the chain honors a "Kids Eat Free" promotion.

This is a promotion Golden Corral has honored during restrictor plate races after the 2011 Daytona 500 when the chain was the primary sponsor of the No.

[21] On July 1, 2013, a YouTube video was uploaded alleging that during a health inspection, the Port Orange, Florida, Golden Corral location, owned by Eric A. Holm, was improperly storing prepared and raw food next to their dumpster.

[22] Items included, among other things: pot roast, gravy, hamburger patties and raw baby back ribs.